A Beautiful Lie
by shesellsseashells33
Summary: Christina's father has been taken, and only one pirate can help her.
1. Chapter 1

When I was a small girl... my mother used to set me on her lap, her knitting set to the side and her soft hands stoking my hair, as tears fell from my eyes, "Don't cry..." she would tell me, "Everything will be fine. It always works out in the end." It was beautiful... but it was a lie.

The cold winter air bit my face, turning my porcelain skin to an icy pink on my cheeks and nose, as I stepped from the opera house and out onto the street. I hurriedly looked around for a horse drawn taxi but found nothing but the normal carriages littering the street. Sighing, I gathered up my skirts and crossed the street quickly, headed for the coast and my father's house, my voice as sore as my head. The opera director's voice still rang through my mind:

"No Christina! It's too sharp!... hold your posture! Deeper! Softer! Louder!" I shook my head to clear the memories and began up the steps leading to an enormous oak door, my heels clicking on the brick stairway. It was not as if I were not a skilled performer, for if I was not, there would be no part for me.

I pulled out a golden key from the many folds of my dress and inserted it into the door, pushing it open gently. I shook off my red cape, which fell down to my ankles and hung it on a coat stand by the door, looking around my house.

Straight ahead of me was a waiting area, fit with a table, bouquets of flowers sitting upon it, and elegant chairs. To the left was the entry to the kitchen and a staircase that led to the second floor. To the right was the entry to a sitting room. The house was themed in white and brown, elegantly set and displayed our wealth handsomely.

I crossed into the kitchen and was surprised to find it empty. Anabelle was always there when I returned home.

"Hmmm." I muttered. My words echoed through the house and it was then that I realized the manor was eerily quiet. I set my tea preparations back on the counter and strolled quickly into the living room, my footsteps ringing through the house.

"Papa?" I called and stuck my head inside the doorway. "Father? Anabelle? James?" I called out. I knew that only two of them were staying with us for the weekend... usually that was the time that the servants went home... but where were they? For the first time in weeks I forgot about my opera performance approaching rapidly, men, and social galas and focused all my attention on the present.

"Father?" I cried endlessly, beginning to panic, running through the house. Someone should have answered by then... "Papa?" I rushed into my father's room... what I saw made me stop in my tracks!

The room was in shambles. My father's blankets and his side table were knocked onto the floor. Glass from a lamp littered the wooden ground and the furniture was thrown over. Tiny holes littered the wall and tore at the chairs. My mind raced as I stepped further in. A rotting smell filled the room and I covered my nose and mouth, stepping forward to investigate. I lightly touched the bedspread and almost fainted as I noticed the crimson liquid soaking it, coming off onto my fingers... blood... no doubt my father's...

Carefully, I lifted the sheets off the floor and set them on the bed. Finding nothing I turned around... I screamed and clutched at the Rosary around my neck, closing my eyes...

When I finally opened them, I was horrified at what I saw.

James, our butler, lay dead on the floor, a trail of blood smeared down the wall and ending by his head. Directly in the center of his forehead was a bullet hole, spilling blood down his face like a crimson mask. His gray eyes stared, empty into mine as I backed away, my hand over my mouth... bile rising in my throat. I rushed out of the room, finding myself with an incredible need to bathe. Sweat beaded down my face from my black, spiral curled hair that fell down to my mid back.

My soft blue eyes reflected fear that I had never felt before. I sank to the floor and buried my head in my hands, sobs racking my body.

"Where's my father?" I whispered through tears to myself. Struggling to take hold of the situation, I stood, and ventured into my father's room again.

I averted my eyes away from the body on the floor, searching desperately for any clue that would lead to my father.

I searched the bed and the floors and found nothing. Slowly, scanning the ground for anything I could, I crossed the room and went to the lavatory.

"Oh... God..." I said and turned away from the doorstep... away from Anabelle, the servant's, body... she had been shot too. Tears gathered in my eyes again but I brushed them away.

"This is no time to cry, Christina." I scolded myself and began pacing. "It doesn't make sense..." I said out loud... "my father is much too old to put up as much of a fight as this... let alone he's ill... no, someone else fought with them. Not Anabelle... it must have been James." I forced myself to look back into the corner into James's face. Yes, there was a hardly formed bruise under his eye. I looked into his hand and saw that he was clutching something. I forced myself to reach down and pry his cold rubbery hand open, looking away and gagging, revealing a necklace. The medallion was round and engraved upon it was a ship. I took in a sharp intake of breath.

"Pirates..." I whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

I clutched the necklace in my hand as I threw my lightweight but still remarkably warm cloak over my shoulders and upon my head, a solid black. I pushed open my door and rushed onto the streets, my father's gun tucked into my skirt... I would need it.

Irrationally, I rushed to the docks, my shoes thumping onto the wood, ignoring the confused look from the dock keeper and began to inspect the outside of each and every ship for any signs of it being a pirate ship. My hair hung in a mess around my white face.

"Christina what are you doing?" I suddenly thought and stopped in my tracks. "Think rationally do you really think that they would have stayed for very long?" I forced myself to hold back tears.

"How am I supposed to find my Papa then?" I asked myself out loud, a wave of hopelessness overwhelming me, bringing me to my knees. "It could take weeks to track him down!" Try as I might though to stop it I felt a tear run down my cheek. I touched it and looked at my wet finger with disgust.

"Ma'am?" A mans voice startled me and I and stood up from my position to face him. The man wore a white wig with a black and gold hat over it. He was a Navy officer and I recognized him at once as Commodore James Norrington. His eyes widened when he saw me. "Miss Ricci?" he asked, "the opera singer? What are you doing here?" I paused to wipe away tears, debating whether to tell him or not about the situation at my house... but I didn't want the pirate who took my father know that I was looking for him. I displayed the most dazzling smile I could and laughed lightly.

"Oh, Commodore." I said, "I'm sorry, I was taking a walk on the beach when I thought I saw something! I just had to see it for myself." The Commodore frowned.

"I see." He said in his deep voice, "but you were crying." I hesitated, wondering how I was going to get out of that

"No I wasn't," I said charmingly, brushing my hand off on my red and black dress, "Commodore, It must have been the sea air."

"Yes quite." Norrington replied, "Yes, I see..." there was an awkward silence.

"How has your opera performance been coming along?" he said obviously trying to direct the conversation elsewhere. I nodded my head absently, my fist still clutched over the necklace, creating imprints in my skin.

"It's fine, thank you. I should be ready when the time comes." Norrington nodded again,  
"And your father?" with that question an aching feeling came into my heart and I yet again forced a smile.

"He is well." I managed to lie.

"Ah, good! He has gotten over his illness then." I nodded and absently wiped my eyes as if I was tired, though in reality I was wiping tears from my eyes.

"Well, Commodore." I said, "I must be going. My father will be waiting for me at home for our supper." I curtsyed shortly, and gave him a wave of my hand. And with that I strolled past, off the docks, and into the city, leaving a very confused Commodore staring after me.

Port Royal bustled around me as I walked through the heart of town. The cool air didn't nip my face as much as it did before, as I was determined not to let anything stand in my way. I was feeling dangerous. Not Hell or high water would stop me from finding my father. He was all I had left and I couldn't lose him. I paused behind an alley, my thoughts racing. Who would know anything about pirates here? Not how horrible they are, I could have gotten hours of that from Norrington but what their nature is like... how they act... where they go. I sighed and pulled up from my leaning position on the wall. I was going to see the one person who I could think of who would know anything about pirates:

William Turner.


	3. Chapter 3

"Christina!" Will exclaimed a smile on his face as he pulled opened the door with a creak. "Its been too long! I've missed you! For one living so close to us, you hardly ever visit. I suppose all that acting has been keeping you busy." He urged me to come in and I did, smiling weakly at my old, childhood friend. He hugged me tightly.

Will hadn't changed a bit. He still had the same style. Black hair that fell to his shoulders and was tied back had always been his trademark. As were his brown pants, small boots, shirt and tight brown vest.

"Yes it has." I tried to laugh, "I haven't seen you in ages." He smiled.

"Aye," he said and I cringed a bit at the pirate slang, "But I have gone to some of your performances. You're amazing! But when I tried to get backstage the guards wouldn't let me."

"I'll have to tell them to resolve that." I smiled again weakly, trying to keep myself cheery... but Will saw right through me.

"Whats wrong Christy?" he asked, concerned and using my young nickname. I looked down at my hands, sniffling my nose, willing the tears back into my head. I was numb from what I had just seen. Will lifted my chin with his hands and looked me directly in the eye. "What is it?" he asked again, more urgently this time.

"Its my father!" I choked quietly, "somebody took him, Will!" Will sucked in his breath, shaking his head in confusion.

"What?" he whispered, "What do you mean?" He pulled up a chair for me and him. I then sat down, beginning to speak.

"I came home from rehearsal to an empty house," I said fumbling with the necklace that I had put around my neck in attempt to hide it from Norrington and grimacing at the memories, "When I went inside everything was eerily quiet and no one would answer my calls. I began to search the house. Maybe my father had passed out somewhere while the servants were out... I don't know... but I went up to his room and found it in shambles everything was broken and torn. I turned around to find James on the floor," I paused, "...dead. So was Anabelle they had been shot in the head." My voice was flying. Will looked at me with all the pity in the world and reached over to comfort me but I shook away, continuing with the story. "I was terrified and couldn't find any trace of my father except for the sheets where he was resting which had blood on them. James was clutching something though," I said and took the necklace off, "This. I'm sure its a pirate medallion." He took it and nodded, studying it, "you and Elizabeth are the only ones I could think of to go to. You've had experience with pirates... I know that. I just hope its not too much to ask." Will shook his head.

"No, Christina," he said, looking away from the chain, "not at all." I felt a single tear roll down my cheek again and I hastily wiped it away.

"What would pirates want with my father?!" I cried out, louder than I anticipated. Will jumped.

"Hes a banker right?" he asked me and I nodded. "Perhaps they wanted his money?"

"But why take him? They could have threatened him just as well and he would have given them what they wanted. Hes not weak but hes an old sick man. He doesn't have to be stupid to know that he wouldn't stand a chance against them. There has to be another reason!" Will sat, contemplating the situation.

"Come on lets go back to your house. We may find something else. Jimmy!" he called to the left. A small boy, about 13, came out of a room in the blacksmith shop, his sandy blonde hair bouncing around his head. His eyes were a dark green but twinkled in the light. His eager, long face was lit up by a smile that would waver even the crossest person.

"Yes sir?" he asked, wiping his hands off on a cloth.

"Go to my house and tell my wife, Elizabeth, that I will be home later than I expected. That I'm with Miss Ricci helping her with a problem." Will told him and the little boy sprung into action.

"Right away sir!" he exclaimed and ran out the door, almost forgetting his coat.

Will smiled at my surprised look. "Parentless." He answered my questioning eyes, "He works for me." I nodded and we both stood. I still shook with sobs that wouldn't surface and Will wrapped his arm around me as we walked out of the blacksmith shop. I hid my face from the ones around me; trying not to attract the newspaper writers they always liked to see what I and my castmates for upcoming shows were up to.

Within minutes we were in front of my house. I looked upon it like a stranger rather than the manor that I had lived in all my life.

"Come." I said and inserted my key once again into the lock. Will followed me into the house and up the stairs. This time I was ready for the dead bodies and stepped inside as calmly as I could, a cold clammy feeling washing over me. I looked around the once elegant room, now in shambles as Will gasped next to me, his hand on the sword strapped tightly around his waist. I walked into the lavatory and grimaced at the sight of Anabelle's body once again.

Her chocolate brown hair was matted and bloody, due to the bullet wound in her hairline. She lay against the bathtub, her head tilted up to the ceiling, her empty eyes directed up into the ceiling, never to see again. Her skin I was sure was cold and rubbery, grey as a fish. I struggled to hold back bile once more. Will was in the other room as I pulled a clean sheet from the cupboard over Anabelles body, hoping to give her some respect until they were found, though perhaps I just didn't want to see her there anymore. I did the same to James, his black hair as sleek as ever and his long face peaceful. I stood up and walked over, standing by the door, hopefully watching Will search the room.

Finally, as he looked behind the door his eyes widened and narrowed. I heard a sound, like a knife being pulled from wood and saw that Will was holding a piece of parchment in one hand, a knife with crimson stain on it in the other. My eyes widened in fear and I took the knife from his hand. He dropped it, his dark eyes never leaving the parchment. I held the knife in my porcelain hands and let the dried blood turn my hands a slight shade of red as the color rubbed off. I could not remember seeing stab wounds on any of the bodies... it must have been my fathers blood. I looked at Will, who had finished reading the writing.

"What does it say Will?" I asked; emotion could not be detected in my voice. Will shook his head slightly. "What does it say?" I asked, dangerously this time. He took the knife from my hand and replaced it with the letter that had been pinned to the wall.

Small vein like rivers of blood ran down the paper from the knife. I blew on it absently and began to read:  
_Mr. Ricci will not be returning home  
And neither will his spirit  
Whoever be reading this  
We are preparing you for a great misfortune  
If you are to go after the man  
For you will die as well  
Eaten by the souls of Palori  
We get what we want_

"Oh my God..." I whispered and felt my knees grow weak, the note falling from my hand and onto the deep brown rug in the middle of the hardwood floor. I stared out of the four-panel window, my eyes filled with tears that I could not hold back. I hated myself for crying but there was nothing else I could do. Will stood next to me and left me alone for a moment, knowing that if he embraced me I would shake him away. I buried my head in my hands, my brain throbbing from crying and tried to clear my head.

- - - - - WILLS POV - - - - - - -  
Christina had been sitting in that same position for a good ten minutes. I resigned to the bed, careful not to touch any of the blood on the sheets and sighed, watching her. She seemed frozen as if in shock.

"Christina?" I asked and she shook herself away from my voice, standing up I stood and backed away a step at the look on her face. Her mood had completely transformed. She turned to look at me, no longer were there tears in her eyes only hate. Not for me, but whoever did this to her father. I noticed how she walked with an air of violent, scary determination that I had never really seen in her towards the door. Her face impassive, her soft, ocean blue eyes almost empty. She turned back to me and frowned.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"Coming where exactly?" I inquired, stepping to the door.

"To find the man who did this to my father." She replied as if it were simple, "and kill him."


	4. Chapter 4

"Christina, we have to think rationally!" Will argued, "How are you going to find them. We should find someone who can help you who is more qualified!"

"And have the entire Navy out looking for him. These pirates will kill him if they get wind they're being hunted." I paused, turning back to him as I made my way down the stairs. "I'm going to find them myself, Will. With or without your help." There was a long pause as we emerged from my house and began walking down the street. Will caught up to me with a few long strides and came to walk beside me.

"Ive got a friend that could take you out to sea..." Will said thoughtfully and I nodded once. Will looked at me reluctantly as we entered his shop once again, "a pirate..." I stiffened but nodded anyways and raised my eyebrows at him but realized quickly that he was being reasonable, only a pirate could help me find another.

Despite my normal cheeriness, I stood straight and erect, determined not to let any emotion dissuade me from the choice I was about to make.

"Alright, Will." I said, "I'll accept your offer and go with your pirate friend under one condition." Will looked back at me.

"Whats that?"

"He takes me back here after I fetch my father." I said and Will nodded.

"He should be arriving tonight, funny enough," he said and handed me a pistol. "Keep this with you." He said and I nodded, giving him a grateful smile. I tucked it into my skirt, along with my father's pistol and the necklace and gave Will a brief hug.

"This voyage with your pirate friend isn't going to be free is it?" I asked, not the least bit sorry or disappointed, just curious yet unemotional unemotional and Will laughed.

"Probably not, knowing him." He said and I sighed, gathering up my cloak and stepping to the door. "Meet me at the docks at midnight." Will said and I nodded.

"Thank you Will." I said gratefully with difficulty. It had been hard for me to say thank you to anyone I was close to my entire life and Will widened his eyes at what he heard.

"You-Youre welcome, Christy." He stammered back and looked at me for a few moments, saying nothing. "Good luck... see you at midnight." I nodded likewise and left the blacksmith shop out into the dead of night. Even then the town bustled with carriages being pulled by horses so sleek they shined and graceful women being escorted to their home by handsome, proper men. I sighed. I wouldn't be seeing this place for a long time. But to my surprise I was rather happy about it. Why shouldn't I be? I considered deep in thoughts as I walked toward the seashore. Here, everyone expects so much of you to grow up to be a lady grow up rich.. Marry rich... there's nothing you can do here without somebody knowing that you're doing it... there's no freedom... like a golden cage.

I sighed again as I approached my house once again to find that the door was once again locked. Pulling out my key for the third time that night, I entered the house and went straight into the living room, where I pulled a portrait of my mother off the wall and set it gently by a sofa. Slowly, reciting the number I knew so well, I stared at a safe on the wall and entered the numbers:  
3-3-3-6-5-8  
Into the safe. My fathers birthday: March 3rd, my mothers birthday, March 6th, and my birthday: May 8th. I smiled sadly and opened up the safe as large as my fathers four-panel window and took out a large sack of coins. Something caught my eye in the safe and I took the small box out in silence, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I opened the small velvet navy blue box and looked upon my mothers wedding ring. She had always wanted my father to have it when she died and it was to be passed on to me one day for me to wear. I gently took the ring out of the box and slipped it over my right ring finger. Staring at it for a few moments I held up my hand in a trance like way.

"I swear to you Mother..." I said foolishly, as if she could hear me, "that on pain of death I will find Father and bring him back safe." I stopped and pulled out a dagger from the safe, the handle was made of pure black ivory, a gold thread spiraling down. Determination coursed through my body along with feelings of hate and confusion. I looked back at the portrait, "And I'll kill the man who took my family with this!" I finished dangerously, my voice breaking.

I walked back to the guest room before grabbing a pillowcase and throwing miscellaneous things into it, along with two extra dresses (they were small) and a pair of shoes. I proudly kept my cloak on my shoulders, not wanting to take it off but put my hair up in a leather strap. Finally I crossed into the seemingly ancient stone kitchen and pulled a large knife from a cabinet, strapping it onto my leg with two belts that I also found in the guest room. I didn't know what I would need so I took everything I could carry in one small bag. I looked at the enormous grandfather clock on the wall and noted that it was 10:00. Still an hour left until I need to leave. I thought and began to wearily climb the stairs. They seemed to go on forever as my tired legs refused to carry me up such a feat. I could feel my instincts kicking in and I wondered why I found it so hard to get to my room. I pushed open the white door with a hand and stepped into my room, examining my surroundings I gasped.

My sleeping chambers had always been made as gay as possible, despite my protests to my father. The maroon and soft brown furniture I had draped crimson and deep brown fabric over, the enormous bed, I did the same but with crimson and black. The curtains I remained a soft auburn and the bright walls I had learned to live with. Along the wall to the left of the oak door, I looked at the large window, five feet tall and lifted from the ground by about a foot. Next to it was the entrance to the lavatory, which I had done up myself, as it took some convincing to my father. The walls were maroon, matching my interest of dark colors. Along the wall next to the large bathtub was a shelf, packed with small bottles of soaks, salts, and rose petals. My make up sat on the counter, which held a washbasin and a small towel. The other towels hung from a rack on the wall.

I stepped out of the privy after splashing cold water on my face and avoided looking at the wall right above my bed. I crossed across the room to my wardrobe, packed with dresses that I didn't keep in the guest room, for there were so many. I pulled out a small deep red nightgown and also put it in the large pillowcase along with a short, black dress that was netted at the sleeves and came down to a little past my knees. I didn't bother with the corsets, leaving them in a drawer under the wardrobe but did grab a pair of riding boots out of the back. If I knew anything about sailing I would need boots. I quickly changed out of the hot dress that I was wearing, still careful to avoid the wall above my bed and pulled on the black, netted one. I slipped on the riding boots, which came up to just below my knee and pulled my hair back once more. Finally, taking a deep shaky breath I turned to the wall and sighed again my eyes that had not deceived me.

**YEVE BEEN WARNED**

Was painted in large black painted letters across my wall. Shaking my head at yet another pirate message, I rushed out of the door and into the sitting room, the only place I could find comfort.

Clumsily remembering my mistake, I closed the vault and hung my mothers portrait back over it. I curled up on the sofa, my eyes looking into the painting of my dead mothers.

"Help me mother." I whispered before closing my eyes and falling asleep.

My eyes snapped open to the sound of clock chimes "dong" it seemed to shout my name 11 times "Christy! Christy!" I groaned slightly and sat up from the uncomfortable position on the otherwise comfortable couch, yawning and pulling back my matted hair from sleep. I looked around for a moment, wondering why I was in my clothes and in the sitting room. Suddenly, like a bullet it all came back to me, the note, my father, Will, and the obscene message left on my wall. I sat bolt upright, suddenly cold even in the warm night and stood, stretching my stiff limbs. I grabbed my pillowcase and slung it over my shoulder, pulling on my precious cloak and walking out into the night once again.

I heard my boots thump on the dock ever so quietly as I ducked away from a pair of Navy Officials, who were watching the docks and waited for them to walk by before stepping out, my silhouette reflecting my slender body, cape blowing in the cool sea breeze and my hair whipping my face. I scanned out over the beaches on each side with searching eyes and looked at the large clock that loomed over Port Royal. 11:47. I sighed and settled under the docks, watching with interest as a row boat circled around the cliff and began to come straight for the beach nearest to me. Cautiously I pulled out my knife from my leg and held it on my lap, still listening and watching for any signs of Will or his pirate friend.

The rowboat kept getting closer and closer. I, by now, could slightly see who was in it. I caught a glimpse of long dreadlocks and a tri corner hat. He was rowing quickly. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.

"Christina?" Will whispered into the darkness and I jumped out from under the dock and over to him. He smiled slightly at me and looked at my attire. My cloak, which fell to my calves, was pulled around me in the cold night air and we approached the rowboat that had beached silently.

"I'm glad you changed," he said, "He'll be more open to you if you look less like a proper lady." He smirked as I scoffed at him. I couldn't believe I was doing this. But I would do whatever I needed for my father. He had only been taken that day, there was a chance I could still catch them.

"Jack?" Will called out quietly to the man in the boat and I saw the man step out and walk towards us. He looked from Will to me and then back to Will.

This pirate had a mischievous look in his eye as he stepped forward. His long dark dreadlocks fell long and his deep chocolate brown eyes looked at me curiously. He wore a white shirt, very much like Will's, that was open slightly in the front, showing his dark tan. He had a small mustache and a goatee like beard that was braided into two braids on his chin. Beads and other miscellaneous things were in his hair... including a bone. He also had a red bandanna on his head under a tri corner hat. The pirate had multiple rings on his fingers and cloths on his hands and around his waist, tucking in his white shirt and brown, tattered and worn vest. Also around his waist was a brown belt with a large buckle, with a pistol, sword, and compass hanging off. His pants were brown and almost clung to him but looked comfortable. Also, his boots were brown leather coming up to his knees. Around him was a coat. The pirate caught me eying him and chuckled.

"Now William," he said, "I thought you'd be content with just Elizabeth. Ye shouldn't be runnin off with other women." I blushed about ten shades of red before Will came to my rescue.

"Jack," Will said pushing you forward a bit, "this is Christina Ricci, she needs your help." Jack held out his hand and half smirked half smiled.

"Hello luv." He said, as I shook his hand, he looked me up and down and I raised my eyebrows. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."


	5. Chapter 5

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Sparrow." I said quietly and shook his hand again. His grip was firm and my hand seemed to be crushed beneath his grasp. Finally after a few awkward moments of looking at me, Jack turned to Will, who had been standing there observing.

"May I have a private word with you William?" Jack said through gritted teeth. Will nodded and Jack took him aside. I listened in carefully, pretending to inspect the letter but I was only able to catch a small bit of what they were saying:

"... No use to me, Will..."

"Wont have to stop... doesn't even know where she's going..."

"...her entire family...gone... don't help her..."

I realized that they were talking about me and I set the parchment down, no longer caring if they saw me listening in. I heard a small bit of what Jack said:

"...not on my ship... pull own weight..."

"Excuse me for interrupting," I said as sweetly as I could. Both the men looked at me. "I can pay you." I pulled out the large bag of gold coins. It was heavy and Jack narrowed his eyes at it. I gave him a nervous look, flattening down the front of my dress. "I can work as well, if you want me too... I can clean and-" Jack looked into my face and I silenced. "Please, Mr. Sparrow." I practically begged, though keeping my body erect, "I need this... I have to find my father. Ill do whatever you ask of me and give you the gold if you help me... please." My face must of shown what my posture did not, for I thought I saw a hint of sympathy in Jacks eyes but as quick as it came it was gone and he was regarding me like a piece of treasure once again. I felt uncomfortable but did not near William to show that I could take care of myself. Finally Jack sighed.

"Alright luv. I been looking for a bit of adventure." He said, "but don't make me regret it."

"Oh, I wont Mr. Sparrow."

"It be CAPTAIN luv." Jack said with a smile and I nodded quickly. I was acting like an obedient dog and it disgusted me, I scoffed at myself, and Jack and Will looked at me strangely.

"Sorry." I said and waited on the beach, right where the water ran over the sand like a river over rocks, peaceful yet fierce.

Checking to see that they weren't watching, desperate to keep my mind off my father, I slipped off my boots and stepped into the water. I looked up at the sky as I felt the cold ocean run over my feet and felt the sand between my toes. I made small circles with my toes in the sand, watching as the dirt was uprooted into the water, making it murky. There were rocks on the bottom of the water and I stepped onto each one. The water began to get deeper but the rocks stayed the same. I hopped along the reef like I was a child, never smiling, but enjoying it. The water got colder and I realized that I had gone out to the point of small waves breaking. The bottom of the ocean was no longer easily visible and I could feel the gentle break of waves on the hem of my dress. I looked back to see that Will and Jack were shaking each others hands, and Jack was getting ready to leave. Quickly collecting myself I ran back to the beach and pulled my boots back on, straightening the belts on my leg that held the knife. I hugged Will, promising that I would see him again. He smiled gently at me.

"Be careful, Christy." He said into my ear and I nodded.

"Will you give this to the opera owner?" I asked and gave him a slip of paper, explaining that I was going to visit a sick relative with my father and would be back as soon as I could. He smiled and nodded watching as I walked away. Carefully, I slipped into the rowboat and looked at the oars did the Captain want me to row? Feeling I had nothing to lose, I reached down and grabbed them. Finding it hard to position myself the right way. Suddenly I heard a chuckle and the rows were taken out of my hands.

"Ill do that luv." Jack said lightly and I scrambled out of his way. I didn't understand why I let my pride down around him. He seemed to understand.

Finally, a ship came into sight around a cliff. I ran my hand over the water, smiling slightly to myself. The cool water hit my hand with a gentle force. I looked out at the ship that was now in plain view and gasped in awe.

"Its beautiful Captain..." I said and Jack beamed.

"Me pride and joy luv." He replied and I sensed a feeling of happiness when his eyes meet the ship. At last, we pulled up next to the enormous ship. I looked to my right and saw that we were next to a worn but sturdy rope ladder. Silently, I grabbed hold of my bag and the ropes, praying that I wouldn't fall back into the rowboat. Finally, I scrambled over the ledge. The chattering that had been going on stopped immediately and I looked up to see eight men looking at me. I stood quickly and looked at them... not with fear... but with an untrusting eye. Jack may be kind to take me to find my father but these were pirates and were not to be trusted. Jack climbed up behind me and looked at his crew, who had all lined up in a line. He began to introduce the crew.

"Gibbs." A short, stout, oldish man with whiting gray hair, sideburns, and a beard. He smiled at me for a brief second before looking to the Captain.

"Mr. Cotton and Mr. Cotton's parrot." I looked upon a somewhat squinty man who seemed to be always frowning and his colorful parrot.

"How do you do?" I nodded to him. He didn't respond.

"Glenn Hemming, who prefers to be called Glenn." Jack continued and I smiled at the man with sandy blonde hair, cut around his face as if someone had put a salad bowl on his head, and bright blue eyes. He was built nicely and shook my hand warmly, something I didn't expect.

"Nice to meet you ma'am." He said and I smiled.

"Joe Hemming, who also prefers to be called by his first name, Glenn's older brother." The other man was of similar characteristics except for his hair was a bit darker, he had light brown eyes, and he had a larger build as far as muscles. His face was impassive as he looked at me but he shook my hand nonetheless.

"Ana Maria," a dark woman who regarded me with a look of disgust at the sight of my dress. She herself wore brown pants, a light shirt and a scraggly hat on her head, hiding her dark hair. I smiled at her, glad to see another woman on board but she just looked at me. I hurried to keep up with Jack.

"Henry Smith," a man with black hair that fell down to his shoulders and into his face, which was long and contained gray eyes. He smiled at me coldly but with lust filled eyes. He wore a crimson bandanna on his head and many knives on his belt. I made a mental note to stay away from him.

"Bill Cald," another with black hair though his eyes were light blue. He nodded as well and continued watching me as I walked with my head held high enough not to look snobby but to show that I had respect in myself.

"And finally, Sam Barol." This man looked younger than me, whereas the others looked older or about my age. He had bright white blonde hair and deep brown eyes. I smiled at him and he back before standing in front of the crew with Jack.

"Crew, this is Christina Ricci. She will be treated as a guest-"

"Captain!" I cried, feeling too much attention directed my way. I blushed and he looked at me, "I'm sorry, I can't accept all this 'treated as a guest' nonsense. Ill earn my own passage on this ship. I will give you the gold and my service." A few of the crew members sniggered and I held my head higher. "I only ask that I'm treated the same as any other." Jack regarded me with a confused expression before shrugging.

"Alright then luv. What can ya do?" he asked and I shrugged.

"Anything you ask." I replied, "If I don't know how, what better time to learn?" Jack smiled and turned back to the crew.

The truth is, I was happy to be on this ship. I thought it would be interesting, no matter how much pirates made my stomach churn with disgust. Perhaps this would change my mind.

"Ye may turn in." and the crew filed out, down into the crews quarters. I immediately regretted not asking for my own room when I saw Henry regard me with another lustful glance and finger his knife. Jack seemed to see it too and turned to me.

"Come this way." He said and I nodded, following him to a small door on the starboard side of the stern, next to the galley. I opened it, glancing at Jack and stepped in the door.

Inside, there was a room, not large as I was used to but not small either, with a bed, a desk with one chair, a wardrobe dresser, and a small table with a mirror and a washbasin. There was no window but I liked it that way. The blankets were black and I smiled. It seemed to be made just for me, as I noticed the mahogany furniture and the dark red and black tapestry that hung over the bed. I turned to Jack to thank him and saw him leaning against the door frame.

"Thank you, Captain Sparrow." I said formally and bowed my head. He smiled and I seemed to lose my nerve for a moment but quickly gained it.

"Yer welcome luv." He said shortly and walked out of the door, closing it behind him. Not bothering to take off my boots or dress, I threw myself onto the bed and fell fast asleep, my bag lying on the ground where I had dropped it.


	6. Chapter 6

I awoke from a nightmare that I couldn't remember. A scream still echoed in my mind and I managed to push memories from my childhood back once again. Stepping out of bed and massaging the muscles on my body that were stiff I looked around the room. Sighing, I found that the ship was quiet. Quietly I peeked out my door and found that the sun hadn't even come up yet. Perfect! I thought and hurried back in the door, pulling on a crimson dress in the same fashion that I had yesterdays. The sleeves hung almost loosely on my arms and the rest of the dress was tight on my body, but not tight enough to show off anything unwanted. Quickly shaking my hair out of the leather and combing it through, I applied dark kohl, bringing out my eyes, and walked out the door, my boots making soft sounds on the wooden deck. Taking a quick look around, I stood at the front of the deck and closed my eyes, the salty sea spray tangy on my lips and my hair blowing back in the early wind. It was chilly and I wrapped my arms around myself.

The sun had yet to come up but the horizon glinted with deep shades of purple and deep orange. I stared up at the sky and watched as each star, one by one disappeared until there was one left. I held my hand up. It seemed so close that I could touch it but I failed. I sighed and looked back out to the horizon and saw that the sun had indeed shown its face. The warmth covered my face and I shut my eyes. I moved to the bow of the ship, standing up upon it and looking down at the water, small swells rocking the ship. I held onto a rope.

-JACKS POV-  
Jack walked out of his cabin; rubbing sleep from his groggily eyes heavily lined with kohl and looked out, expecting to see nothing but the sunrise. He was wrong. A faint smile appeared on his lips when he laid his eyes on Christine, her arms out wide on the bow of the ship, as if she were trying to fly away. The colors of the sunrise, deep reds, purples, oranges, and yellows reflected off the clouds and plastered the sky around her. A sketch worthy sight Jack thought and walked up to starboard side of the bow, looking up at her face with interest. Her eyes were closed and a smile was spread across her face, cheekbones high and lips full; eyelashes long. She was beautiful Jack couldn't deny that, more so than the average whore, yet he sensed a barrier between her and everyone around the girl. Her style and choice of color confused him also. She seemed friendly but yet she never stayed away from dark colors or atmosphere too long. She seemed to take comfort in the darkness. Jack chuckled and couldn't help but smile as well as he looked out onto the morning horizon.  
-END JACKS POV-

I finally opened my eyes, greeted with the beautiful view of the sunrise. Smiling a little bit, I dwelled on why I was actually here. A solemn journey, I should not be enjoying the first morning this much. But I shook my head, sighing. Smiling and squinting as the sun hit my porcelain face, I climbed down from the front of the boat, stumbling slightly and was surprised when I fell on somebody.

I looked up at Jack, who had caught me in my clumsiness and blushed ten shades of red. "Sorry Captain!" I exclaimed and stood up on my own, my hands grasping the railing on the side. "How long have you been here?" I felt spied upon and embarrassed. Jack smiled.

"Not much time at all, luv." He said and we continued to look out at the water side by side.

"Did I ruin your view of the sunrise?" I asked, drawing my cloak around me closer. Jack looked at it in curiosity and I pulled the hood over my head, framing my face nicely.

"No," Jack said, shaking his head, "not at all, actually I had a very good look of the view up your skirt." I gasped and turned to look at him, thinking of nothing powerful enough to say before simply walking away from him, holding in the urge to slap Jack Sparrow. As I came to the starboard side of the ship I put my hands on the railing and sighed, letting my mind wander to my father once again to calm my rage, but only ended up replacing it with confusion. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he dead? I felt Jack's eyes on me but paid him no heed. I looked out at the water, which was now reflecting the sun brightly, hitting my eyes. I thought of the first time I had seen the ocean, my fathers arms wrapped around me as we sat on the docks, looking out into the water together.

_"Where does it go Daddy?" I asked, "When does the water stop?"_

"I don't know, belle." My father whispered and I leaned my head back on his chest. He was such a wonderful father. Always there for me protecting me drying my tears when I needed him to.

"Is Mother watching us?" I asked, my five-year-old voice was high and sweet sounding, but sorrow escaped even the happiest of faces.

"Of course, darling." Father answered reassuringly, hugging me tighter.

"Shes in heaven isn't she Daddy?"

"Yes, Christina shes watching, she watches as you play with your dolls and she watches as you sleep at night. She loves you Christy, don't forget that." My eyes were stinging as I forced myself to hold back tears. Why did I have to even bring up the question? The anguish on my father's face stung my heart. Father cradled me in his arms and I felt a tear slide down my full cheeks.

"Sing me a song, Daddy." I almost choked, "Mommy's song." His voice filled the air around me and I smiled shakily as he sang one of my favorite songs:  
(LEARN TO BE LONELY)  
Child of the wilderness  
Born into emptiness  
Learn to be lonely  
Learn to find your way in darkness  
Who will be there for you?  
Comfort and care for you?  
Learn to be lonely  
Learn to be your one companion  
Never dreamed out in the world  
There are arms to hold you...

My own voice continued on from my own mouth as I was dragged from my flashback. I sang quietly to myself.

"Youve always known  
Your heart was on its own  
So laugh in your loneliness  
Child of the wilderness  
Learn to be lonely  
Learn how to love  
Life that is lived alone  
Learn to be lonely  
Life can be lived  
Live can be loved  
Alone..."

"Ye have a very pretty voice." The Captain stepped behind me and I could hear his boots come to rest on the deck.

"Thank you, Captain." I said, not turning around. I didn't want anyone to see the tears that stained my cheeks and I still hadn't gotten over his remark. Hastily, I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and scolded myself for losing control. After I collected myself, I turned to Captain Sparrow. "What will you have me do?" I asked and Jack looked around.

"Well then what can you do that you know how to do that you are good at doing can you do." I frowned in confusion, "Glenn requires assistance in the kitchen," he said after a moment's pause and I nodded, walking away from the helm without another word. Once again I could feel Jack's eyes on my figure and I rolled my eyes. Never in my life had I met such a man. He was improper, perverted, oh I couldn't think about it any longer. Strolling into the galley, I took my mind away from the Captain and directed it onto the task before me. Coming up from behind a table, his eyes wide with curiosity, Glenn stood.

"Oh," he said, "Hello. What are you doing in here?" His blonde hair swung with his each inclination of his head and his skin was tan.

"The Captain sent me down here." I replied, taking my inspecting eyes up to his blue ones.

"Well, breakfast isn't ready yet so if that's what you're here for you're wasting your time." He replied not unkindly but matter-of-factly. I looked down. "And it probably won't be done for a while until I finish fixing this table." He added.

"I can make the food." I said, "We can get two things done at once." Glenn looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You can cook?" he asked skeptically and I nodded.

"You don't think that I sit around and do nothing around my house do you? I don't let the maids do everything." I stated and pulled my hair tighter and tucked the bangs out of my eyes, making my way to the cupboards that were lined above the stove.

"Do you people have anything but rum and flour?" I asked, disgusted as I backed away from the cupboard. Glenn looked up and smiled.

"In the cupboard next to the stove is where we keep the rest of it." He said and I nodded, rummaging in there. There wasn't much more but I emptied out the cupboard my finger on my chin and my brow creased in thought. In front of me was an array of different things: a basket of eggs, small bags of ham small enough to fit in a pocket (which I was sure they were), and an array of vegetables. Apples sat on a basket in the middle of the table that Glenn was fixing and I smiled, walking over and scooping several out of the bowl and making my way back to the stove which I quickly stoked a fire under. Pulling a knife off of a board I got to work.


	7. Chapter 7

I groaned lightly, the gentle rock of the ship waking me once again. I slipped out of bed and pushed back, yet again, the screams I dreamt of. I hadn't gotten much sleep that night and I was exhausted but, instead of complaining, I got up and rummaged around my bag for a dress to wear. I glanced once at my father's pistol and Will's gun and put my father's into my boot along with the knife that I kept there.

Yet another day on the Black Pearl had begun and I was getting more and more discouraged every moment of every hour. The last three days had been torture as I struggled to keep up with making meals for the crew, doing odd jobs here and there, and coping with the snide looks and comments from all the crew members, well, all but Gibbs and Glenn. With every passing day Henry seemed to get a bit closer and I was starting to get nervous... but what was I to worry about?... Everything.

I pulled on a white sleeveless summer dress, which a sailor had once made for me, and would never have been allowed to be worn anywhere but my room back home, pulled half my hair into my leather strap and stepped out the door, my riding boots once again making noise on the dark wooden deck. I looked over the edge of the ship and down into the water. A soft cry came from my lips as I let my eyes rest on what looked like a fin sticking up from the water. Jack stepped out of his cabin and smiled at the sight. I turned around to face him.

"Captain!" I cried and pointed down into the water. Jack looked over the edge and looked back at me like I was a child.

"Dolphins." He said dully and I nodded. Jack flashed me a crooked smile.

"I've never seen one only drawings by the sailors that came to Port Royal." I said in awe as I smiled wide at the dolphin's long nosed face as it looked at me.

"Ye've seen the sailor's drawings?" Jack asked curiously and I blushed before looking around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

"I did used to sneak into pubs occasionally to listen to the pirates and sailors tell stories. Of course my father didnt know." Jack gave another crooked smile and I continued, "Of course, he also didnt know that I would swim under the docks and climb trees while he was gone. I've never really acted very ladylike no matter how much he wanted me to." Once again the conversation had led to my father, no matter how much I tried to avoid it. An awkward silence filled the air and I continued to look out into the water, watching as the dolphins jumped through the air. I forced myself, for what seemed like the millionth time in my life, to hold back tears. I wondered how many times I would have to do this very same thing, hide my sorrow from the world and wait for somebody's arms to hold me.

"Why do ye do that?" Jack's voice shook me from my thoughts. I looked at him, expecting yet another smart alack remark and braced for one.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Leave your body like that." I blushed again. "Just stare off..."

I shrugged, "I dunno. Just... lost in the past I suppose. It's nothing new." I added. I glanced at him and saw him with a dagger in his hands. My father's.

"HEY!" I exclaimed, jumping forward and reached for it. "You stole my dagger!"

"Borrowed," Jack countered loudly, backing up, "Borrowed without permission!"

"Give it back!" I jumped up, snatching it from his hands, my eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Were you just going to steal it from under my nose? Those are my things that dagger is very important to me!" Jack said nothing and I leaned against the side of the dock, growling under my breath. "You lot are all nothing but a bunch of despicable pirates!" I was close to tears.

"Sticks and stones luv," Jack said snidely. His eyes ran up and down my body, in my tight little dress and I put my hands over my stomach, feeling self conscious and violated at the same time.

"Will you stop looking at me like that?" I exclaimed, exasperated.

"Like what luv?" Jack asked in fake innocence, a smirk on his lips, and I rolled my eyes.

"As if you don't know," I shot back, "stop regarding me like I'm some piece of treasure and stop calling me luv! I'm here to find my father... not to be your or any member of your crew's whore or eye candy!" Jack looked surprised at my outburst but I turned on my heel.

Without another word to Jack I walked to my cabin and stepped inside, pulling on my cape and tying the middle around me. The sun could beat down upon me all it wanted but I wasnt going to take off that cloak. With a sigh, I stepped back out and went into the galley, entering and igniting the small fireplace beneath the stove top.

I slammed the knife that I had been using to chop potatoes into the wide wooden board with such force that it stuck. Glenn looked up from cleaning the counters with a frown.

"What's wrong with you, mate?" he asked not cruelly but not kindly either. I shrugged and sat down at the table waiting for the potatoes to finish and leaned my head on the table, ignoring Glenn's question.

"Dont get me started." I finally replied and stood back up, picking the knife up out of the board and getting back to work. Glenn chuckled and continued with his own work in silence.

Finally, when the kitchen was spick and span and a midday meal was set out on the table, I leaned against the wall and slid down onto the floor. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, before dozing off, the gentle rock of the ship lulling me to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_A scream...  
A cruel laugh...  
Pleads...  
Tears...  
And suddenly the air is a bright red, mixed with yellow and orange. There is a splat like sound and the colors are replaced by blood red.  
A gunshot...  
Another scream... _

"Sleepin' on the job luv?" My eyes shot open as a voice rang through my ears. I let my eyes clear and my body wake up before quickly standing to my feet. With a small cry of alarm I came face to face with none other than Jack Sparrow.

Stretching my cramped muscles I looked down upon the floor where I had leaned against the wall and fallen asleep.

"Captain!" I cried, surprised, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didnt realize I would fall asleep." Jack looked at me, an emotionless expression on his face. He raised his eyebrows.

"Ye were screamin'. Glenn had to come out and get me." A horrified look crossed my face as I looked down onto the ground... I passed Jack and sat down at the table, putting my head in my hands.

"I'm sorry to disturb anyone..." I mumbled, "I just... didnt get a lot of sleep last night..."

"I know you didnt luv." Jack said seriously, sitting down across from me, "You were yelling and making one Hell of a lot of noise last night..." he smirked, "Of course, the only way I'd want to hear you screamin' like that is if ye were with me." I scoffed.

"Please," I said, pride edging back into my voice, "Not now." Jack chuckled.

"Now," he said in a business like manner, "What happened to make you have nightmares like this?" I shook my head.

"You dont want to listen to this." I said, trying to escape the conversation, "It would bore you to death."

"Ive got time, as it were. Tell old Jacky." Jack replied and put his feet on the table, looking at me with his eyebrows raised. I gave him one last pleading look but he didn't budge. I rubbed my eyes before sighing and fixing my gaze onto my hands, which were in my lap anxiously twisting. Finally I sighed again and began talking rather quietly.

"My mother is dead" I almost whispered and I heard Jacks "grunt" of sort, signaling me to continue, "She was killed by pirates when I was five."

_"Mother!" A young girl cried, rushing into the door, "Mother, you simply must see it! The new Opera house is beautiful!" A tall woman stepped out of the kitchen in their enormous home. She wiped her hands off on her apron and smiled as she gathered her daughter up in her arms._

Gina Ricci was a blonde woman, her body full yet tall and her face kind. She had high cheekbones and wore lots of powder and pink makeup. Her blonde hair hung in a loose bun, curls falling down to frame her face.

Christina Ricci, however, held more of a gothic look. Her eyes were shadowed by heavy eyelashes and her cheekbones stood high but did not humble her porcelain skin. She was tall and skinny for the age of five. Her ocean blue eyes matched her mothers and complimented her black hair that fell in curls down to her back. This day she was wearing an emerald green dress, her hair tied up in a ribbon of the same color. Her small, black shoed feet, stuck out barely from the dress as she ran.

Behind the small girl, walked in a tall man, Edward Ricci. His black hair was combed back and exposed a rather small forehead over a pair of green eyes. He locked the door. Edward stood proud and erect, though lost this composure once the door was closed, bending to an almost boyish charm as he leaned against the wall.

"Look at my two beautiful girls!" he cried in his not deep but booming nonetheless voice. Gina smiled and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"Ew, Mummy." Christina stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose at the sight; her parents laughed and sat on the couch. They had fought much to gain their right to marry from their parents when they were younger, both of them having been assigned to someone else. Their love had fused them together very tightly because of their hardships. Christina smiled at their happy faces and climbed in between them, resting her head back as if inside her own little house, her parents being the walls and the ceiling... of course thats how she felt all the time when she was with them... happy and safe.

"We were the perfect family..." I said, "happy, smiling, loving each other with all our hearts... but I should of known that it would change... that good things always die..."

_"And the grand staircase... oh Mother it was beautiful!" Little Christina continued her portrayal and expressed her admiration for the Opera House in Port Royal. The young girl stood up and danced by the window, nearly twice her height, singing to herself. She stopped and approached her parents, who were laughing heartily._

"Mother," she said, "Father... I know what I want to make of my life." She hesitated.

"And what is that, belle?" her father asked, leaning on his knees, his chin in his hands. Gina put her hand on her husbands back and looked at her daughter expectantly.

"Yes, what is it my love?" her Italian accent, as well as her husband's had been the most welcoming sound that Christina had ever heard, having spent the first two years of her life in Italy. It felt like home to her.

"I want to sing in the Opera." Christina said, her fear put behind her. Her parents looked at each other, but the girl could not tell what they were thinking. Her mother looked back at her.

"Of course you can, belle!" she said and gathered her daughter up in her arms and setting her down on her lap. "Whatever you want to do!" Christina nearly jumped with joy.

"Oh thank you Mama! Papa!" she cried and leapt from her mother's lap to throw her arms around her father.

"What would make you think that we would not want you to be the best you can... and accomplish all you can?" Gina asked... Christina looked down.

"Mary Ann's father says that a respectable woman is to grow up, become a lady, marry a gentleman, and have babies to breed." she emphasized the last word in disgust wrinkling her nose again.

"Her father's a prick." Edward spoke up and Gina looked started at the comment, "And I feel very sorry for Mary Ann. She will live to abandon her talents, but I must agree with him when it comes to becoming a lady. You must always mind your manners and carry yourself properly." Christina smiled and laughed as her mother winked at her.

"Thank you Papa!" the small girl cried and ran to the door. "May I go play with my friends?" Her mother nodded and Christina ran out the door, leaving her parents to do whatever they do.

"Will!" She cried, rushing into the park where she spotted my best friend. He was sitting on a wooden bench, his hands over his eyes, calling out numbers. "Have you seen Mary Ann or Elizabeth?"

"Eighteen, nineteen, twenty!" Will looked up and grinned. "Ready or not here I come!" he turned. "Oh, hello Christina." Will said, "Mary Ann and Elizabeth are here somewhere... do you want to help me look for them?" Christina nodded and they began creeping around the park, behind the wooden swings and trees. Finally, with a giggle, Christina spotted the hem of a brown dress and pointed to the battered slide. Will smiled and crept over to the metal with Christina.

"Rawr!" Christina cried and jumped to the side, there was a scream while Will jumped to the other and yelled:  
"We found you Elizabeth!" the girl smiled and crawled out from under the slide in the grass, her dark blonde, curled hair, half up ruffled and her freckled face seemingly getting over a shock.

"Christina!" she cried, "How rude!" the black haired girl laughed.

"Oh come off it Elizabeth, it was just a bit of fun!" Elizabeth flashed a small smile and the three of them started looking for Mary Ann.

"Mary Ann!" Christina cried, a smile gracing her features, "Mary Ann!" Finally, hearing a giggle somewhere to her right, she turned and made her way to a large tree. The low branches were high in themselves. She frowned and heard another giggle... Holding back a laugh, Christina made her way around the tree but didnt find Mary Ann. Another giggle sent the girl around the tree once more, the giggle didnt seem to get any closer... it seemed no matter where beside the tree Christina was... the giggle was always on the other side!

Will looked up from under the seesaw and burst out in laughter at what he saw. A large oak tree stood on the outskirts of the park and there were Christina and Mary Ann, circling it seeming to chase one another slowly. Christina wore a look of frustration and though on her face while Mary Ann held one of laughter. Will beckoned Elizabeth closer and pointed. Elizabeth struggled to hold back a laugh.

Finally, having to admit she had been defeated, that there was nothing on the other side of the tree, Christina stopped, folding her arms and huffing. Suddenly, a figure came around the tree, huddled and trying to contain laughs, knocking Christina and the stranger to the ground.

"Mary Ann!" Christina cried, realizing it wasnt a stranger at all, but one of her best friends. The two stood, laughing and falling over the tree roots. Christina stood first, her mind hatching a brilliant idea. Putting her arms around the tree, she began to skillfully scale the trunk, trying to reach the first branches so high above. Elizabeth helped Mary Ann to her feet and looked at Christina with disapproval.

"Christina!" she scolded like a mother, "Climbing trees is most unladylike and improper." Christina laughed, swinging her foot over the first branch and looking down, not in the least bit afraid.

"Lighten up Elizabeth; come on up Will, if they won't." Will shook his head and smiled.

"I have to go back to the blacksmith shop soon, Christy. But we'll do it later, it looks fun!" He said and Christina nodded, looking up.

"I almost forgot to tell you all!" she called down, "My mother and father say that I may sing for the opera when I am old enough." Will smiled in happiness for his friend.

"But Christy," Mary Ann called, "my father says that the purpose of a lady is to marry and have children and take care of her husband." Christina wrinkled her nose for the third time that day.

"My father says your father's a prick for saying that. He says that I should be able to make my life whatever I want because I was put here to do great things... and I will, unlike you with your narrow mind on what life is about." Then, much to Mary Ann and Elizabeth's horror, I leapt from the branch onto the ground with ease.

"I mean just look at your faces!" she laughed, "You make it look like I have just committed a sin by jumping off a branch." Will shuffled his feet and looked back at the three girls.

"I have to leave." He said, breaking the tension. Christina looked up; it was getting dark...

"Me too." She said, "Mother expects me home for pasta tonight." Then with a last wave to Mary Ann and Elizabeth and a hug to Will, she sprinted out of the park and off to her house.

Twilight was descending upon Port Royal as Christina approached her home. She licked her lips at the thought of a hot pasta and sauce meal on the table at her place, her parents sitting across from her... the happy family they were. Christina straightened her hair and brushed off her dress before taking a small golden key out of her pocket and inserting it into the lock. Realizing something odd, she pulled out the key, which didnt seem to be working and peeked through the keyhole. She could see straight through and the other side of the door hole seemed to be broken. Frowning, she pushed open the door and was even more surprised to see it wasnt locked... they always locked it...

Shrugging, the girl stepped into her house and was surprised at the state she found the living room. The couch was partway turned and the grand rug twisted on the ground. Hearing voices in the kitchen, Christina crossed across the sitting room, carefully, and stepped into the stone cookery. What was there horrified her.

"Papa! Mama!" she cried when she saw them. Her mother was in a corner trying to fight away from a rugged man with a bandana on and a belt full of weapons. Her father was being held back by another while being forced to watch as his wife was violated. The third pirate in the room however was busy raiding the safe in the wall. Christina's eyes were wide with fear. Her first instinct was to run but she knew that would do no good. The third pirate suddenly turned around and smiled, gold teeth, yellow teeth and missing teeth alike. Edward turned her way and his eyes widened.

"No, Christina! Get out of here, belle!" Christina heard him, but her short legs simply would not move. She stood, frozen to the spot. The man advanced on her and the small girl stepped backwards, her little hands twisting nervously. She looked at him with pure terror on her face.

"No! No, Christina!" Edward cried, fighting back the pirate that held him as much as possible. Christina looked at the advancing man with a horror stricken face. He picked her up by her waist and she snapped back to reality.

"LET GO OF ME YOU!" she screamed and began beating on the man's shoulder hard. "LET GO OF ME! PAPA!" Edward struggled before sighing and bringing up his fist into the pirate's face. The man that was holding him fell back, surprised and wounded. Edward then, without another thought, rushed to his daughter's captor and took the pistol out of his belt.

"Put her down!" Edward bellowed, holding the pistol to the pirate's head, "Put my daughter down now!" Christina was thrown to the ground, her head smacking against a table leg. She quickly stumbled up, throbbing in her head and stood behind her father. Edward then turned to the pirate that held his wife, who was slumped on the ground, covered in blood and sobbing weakly, her skirts pulled up to her waist. His pants were open.

"Mama!" Christina cried through tears. Gina looked up and managed a quick smile, trying, without words, to tell her daughter it was all right. Then she dropped her head back onto the floor. Christina clutched to her father's leg, praying to a God she didnt understand to help them, to save her family. What seemed to be the leader of the pirates backed away from Gina, but not before kicking her onto her back, his hands up.

"Alright mate." He said and began making his way to the door, Edward's gun following him the whole way. The other three pirates all stood in the kitchen still, one of them moving slowly toward the woman. Christina noticed.

"Papa!" she cried and pointed. But it was too late. The knife he had been holding was driven into her mother's heart. Gina screamed in pain and a shot rang out as Edward fired his pistol at the man, watching as he fell to the ground, dead. The other two were gone before Christina or her father knew it. Prying his daughter off of him, Edward rushed to his wife's side and dropped to his knees.

"Gina, Gina!" he cried and gathered her head onto his lap. Christina sobbed onto her mother's stomach, rubbing blood all over her face unintentionally. Gina put her shaking hand onto her daughter's head, lifting it.

"Promise me, my angel, mi Angelo." Gina said to her, tears running down her face, "Heed what I said, be all you can be." Christina whimpered and tried to look brave for her mother.

"I promise." Gina looked satisfied and turned to her husband, a look of utter loss on her face.

"I-I love you.. Both of you.. Dont forget that.." She slipped off her wedding ring and pressed it into Edward's hands... and with that, Gina Ricci, wife of Edward Ricci and mother of Christina Ricci, the most wonderful and only woman Christina ever looked up to, died.

"No," Edward whispered and kissed his wife softly on the lips, praying out loud that this was a dream. Christina sat next to her father, looking straight ahead, trying not to break down into tears. 'I must be brave' she thought 'I must be brave'.

Suddenly a yell filled the air and the window to the left of them exploded as a torch was flung through. Christina screamed as it landed next to her, catching the arm of her dress on fire. Edward beat it out, trying to stop the flames from engulfing his wife's dead body. Smoke filled the air and Christina coughed. There was chaos as Edward tried to lift his wife's dead body and at the same time drag his daughter to her feet. Something else landed beside the fire-lit stove. Mr. Ricci stood up, wrenching his daughter up with him and fled from the kitchen into the sitting room, trying to escape the fire, trying to escape the bomb. He pulled her to the door in attempt to flee but she jerked her arm away from him.

"Emily, father! We mustn't leave Emily!" she cried and ran to the sofa where she picked up her precious doll, its little blue dress and curled hair set perfectly and its little porcelain face, much like Christina's held a look of utter happiness. Christina clutched "Emily" to her chest as she ran with her father from the house. They were less than ten feet away from it and ducking behind a carriage when the kitchen to their beloved house, no... their home burst into exploded and sent the rest of the manor bursting in flames. Edward picked up his child, the only thing left he had to fight for and ran away from the scene, heading for the fort. 

"My father bought me... so many more things... and tended to my every need." I finished my story, tracing the burn scar on my arm from the fire... "But I would never have what I wanted most... my mother to be back and our family to be whole again. He raised me as a proper lady from then on... and only let me engage in opera because it was my mother's final wish. I suppose we got over her death in the end... but we never became the family we once were, no matter how happy we made each other..."

"There!" I nearly cried, holding back tears, "Are you happy? You have now successfully gotten me to do something that I would never dream of doing."

Jack looked at me, my eyes shining with tears. "And what would that be?" he asked. There was not a touch of tenderness in his voice, just curiosity.

"You've accomplished in making me... express something... some feeling to a stranger... and divulge my secret."

"Miss Ricci, luv," he said and I started, realizing that he had just called me something that I had been asking him to call me for days, "If you choose to lock your heart away you'll lose it for certain." And with a nod and a bow of the head, he stood and left, leaving me to lean my head on the table and for the first time in years... simply weep.


	9. Chapter 9

Many days (by now I had stopped counting) had passed since I left Port Royal... my supply of hope running low all the time, I knew, was running out. The kitchen was far less neat and flawless as it had been before as most of my time was spent at the window, gazing out, hoping to see even the faintest glimpse of a ship. My efforts, though, went unheeded by whatever force there was in the world, for no ship passed into my sight.

Over those days that were spent on the Black Pearl I had learned to avoid Henry Smith, the sail maker. His beady dark eyes however had always had a taste for me, as I noticed... he always seemed to find me.

I wasn't one to complain, so prideful I was, and never went running to the Captain when unwanted eyes would make their way over my body, or when an unwanted hand would run down my leg at mealtimes. Of course, I expected little cooperation from the Captain, as Jack Sparrow's eyes would travel as well as anybody else's. I forced myself to ignore them and went about every day.

My health had been reasonably well but unfortunately I could not say the same for my clothes... All but a burgundy dress that I had set aside were torn in some way, stained, or worn from the sun. I made a note to purchase new clothes next chance I got. I knew that we would have to stop at a port sometime for the ship couldn't resupply itself.

As I stood in front of the tall, vanity mirror, showing half of my body I scrutinized myself for the first time. My black spiral curled hair lay somewhat tangled and in desperate need of a good wash. My skin, which had always been the purist white, was beginning to tan. My body, which had always been thin by nature was now toned, giving me muscles I would never have thought I would acquire. Smiling slightly, I reached for my kohl and applied it, ruffling my hair as an old habit, straightening the last unharmed, burgundy dress and walked out the door.

Stepping above deck and into the morning air, I breathed deep, letting the slight wind kiss my face and the salt in the air grace my senses. With another small smile despite the aching in my heart, I walked to the front of the ship where I spotted the captain, in his usual place, leaning his elbows over the railing. I hesitated, not sure why I did so, but approached him with caution, leaning over the edge and looking out into the endless sea water. Jack Sparrow and I had come to talking in the morning as the sun peeked over the water. I liked talking with this peculiar and... a thought tugged at my mind... even handsome man. Despite the inappropriate manner, he always had interesting things to say and a laugh would rise in my throat at even the slightest of remarks.

In exchange for my history lesson on my life, Jack gave me his. He had once been Captain of the Black Pearl but was mutinied upon, after he told his first mate the location of the treasure of Cortez, on Isla Du Muerta, his first mate led a mutiny against him. They stranded him on an island and left him to die.

"But how did you escape?" I asked.

"Sea turtles mate." Jack replied, "I waded out into the water until all kinds of sea creatures came and landed on me... then I roped a couple of sea turtles, tied them together, made a raft and sailed away from that dreaded spit of land." I raised my eyebrows... I had heard a lot of crazy stories but not one like this.

But... what his crew didnt know was that the treasure of Cortez was cursed. If even a single piece of the treasure were taken from the chest, then the taker would be cursed for eternity. The crew, all but Jack who was stranded on the island, took the treasure and spent it all on everything they could desire but soon the curse descended on them. "The food turned to ash in their mouths, the drink would not satisfy, and not all the pleasurable company in the world could slake their lust." I had heard Elizabeth say.

Jack spent ten years trying to get the Pearl back, traveling to and fro, trying to find it and his mutinous first mate, a man named Barbossa. Finally, he came to Port Royal and met Will, who broke him out of jail and commandeered a ship to save Elizabeth, who Barbossa had kidnapped.

Will and Jack had sailed to Tortuga, where they had acquired a crew on the ship that they had stolen from the navy and sailed after the Black Pearl. They went to the island Isla Du Muerta, where they found Elizabeth and the crew of the Black Pearl, who were trying to break their curse by putting Elizabeth's blood on the gold. But in the end, they found that they needed Will's blood to break their curse because the crew needed a man named Bootstrap Bill Turner's (Will's father) blood to break the curse.

My eyes widened again and my hands twisted over the edge of the railing as I listened with intent interest. I had never heard a pirate story like this, no matter how many I had heard.

Jack tried to get the Pearl back but ended up being left on the island once again with Elizabeth.

"She burned me rum!" Jack exploded in the middle of the story, "to flag down a ship... I'm not saying it didnt work because the Navy came and picked us up... but she burned me rum!" I tried to hold back my laughter but failed miserably. Jack looked at me strangely and continued with his story.

Elizabeth agreed to marry Commodore Norrington in exchange that they would go save Will and the crew from Barbossa's men. They went to Isla Du Muerta where, after a struggle of wits and swordsmanship, they ended up breaking the curse with Will's blood and killing the crew.

But it wasnt over, Jack was taken back to Port Royal after the crew obeyed the code and left without him and was sentenced to a hanging. Will took on the entire Navy with him and he and Elizabeth confessed their love to each other. Jack got away on the Pearl, which the crew had come back to get him with, claiming that the code was more actual guidelines than anything else. Will and Elizabeth were married.

"And I sailed away on me beloved ship, the Black Pearl, and out into the horizon." Jack finished and I smiled, leaning my chin on my hands dreamily, looking out into the water.

"That was an amazing story Captain." I said and sighed, "I wish that I could have an adventure like that..." Jack smiled.

"There are your friends, luv." Jack said and pointed out onto the water beside the ship. I walked behind him to the side of the vessel and looked over the edge, gaping once again at the dolphins in the water. They squeaked and I laughed, allowing their giddiness to rub off on me... to them there was not a single problem in the world. To imagine it was a life of chasing boats and loving friends... All the while I watched them, only vaguely aware that Jack wasnt looking at the dolphins, but at me.

"What do they feel like, Captain Sparrow?" I asked and turned back to Jack, who abruptly looked away. He smiled and turned to me again silently, cornering me on the front of the ship, one arm on each side of me. I felt my heart miss a beat. I didn't struggle, for he wasnt hurting me in any way, but just looked at him with a questioning glance. His face was approaching mine much too fast. I wanted to push him away... why wasnt I? He was too close, there was almost contact. My eyes flicked from his eyes, locked on mine, and to his lips, back to his eyes, my own eyes wide as saucepans. My mind told me to back away but... I couldnt... why wasnt I pushing him away?

"Cap'n?" Gibbs's voice said and I was pulled from my trance before turning around abruptly to look back out at the water, trying to hide my beat red face my mind racing... why didnt I push him away? Did I need someone to care so badly that I would let a perverted pirate kiss me... or was it something else? I pushed the thought backd. Jack took his arms off from beside me and turned to Gibbs.

"Mr. Gibbs." Jack said, "What service can I be to you?" for a moment I thought I heard a tone of annoyance and frustration in his tone but I dismissed the fact and lightly pushed him out of the way, hurrying to my cabin, my head down. Gibbs looked questioningly after me but shrugged and continued to talk to Jack.

The door slammed behind me and I threw myself upon my bed, my thoughts spinning and a light headache beginning to form. He's a pirate! I scolded myself, pirates killed my mother! but still I argued with myself... this one's different! He wouldnt hurt me or... but how do you know that? I stopped, realizing that I was right... how did I know that he wouldnt hurt me? How did I know that he didnt try to kiss me so that he could have his way with me? I "humph"ed and stalked out the door and into the kitchen, hurriedly starting another day's work as I heard the crew come out of their quarters looking for breakfast.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
Jack turned away from Gibbs, annoyance tugging at his insides. "Mr. Gibbs!" he abruptly interrupted the man. "When I want to go searching for treasure and jewels... I will. Why? Because I am the Captain and what I say goes, savvy? Miss Ricci is paying an exceeded amount of money for us to help her find her father and trust me, by the time we do find him and take them back to Port Royal... you will be very pleased indeed with the money we will acquire." Gibbs still looked doubtful.

"We will never find him, Cap'n." he said, "This is one man that we have to find... with no clue as to where he is." Jack held up his finger.

"Ah, but there is a clue, mate." He said, "The people who took her father left a little note... said something about Palori... the treasure..." Gibbs's eyes widened, "Now we're docking in Tortuga tomorrow, there's got to be somebody there who knows something about it... aye? Well we're going to find out about it, and then take it for ourselves." Gibbs grinned a toothy grin and nodded before sauntering off. Sighing, as he watched the crew file into the kitchen, where he knew Christina was, he walked into his cabin before sitting at his desk, his head on his hand. _What is wrong with you Jack?_ he thought and stood up, his restless legs refusing to stay still. _Why did you try to kiss her?_ That was just the question wasnt it... why had he tried to kiss her? Could he possibly feel something for the rich opera singer that he didnt feel for the general whore? Or was it just that his lust had been contained for so long that having a woman on board was proving to be too much for him? That must be it. Jack thought, its just the fact that she's a woman... when we dock in Tortuga we'll have ourselves a nice little night with the brothel. Nodding to himself, content that he had fixed the problem, he left his cabin and set the crew to work, an apple in his hand and the other being preoccupied by the wheel.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

Finally finished with catching up from my lack of work from the last few days, I tossed the wash towel onto the table and walked out the door wearily to find that the crew had already gone to bed. The moonlight reflected off of the deck slightly and I smiled, making my way towards my room. Suddenly a voice reached my ears and I pressed myself against the wall... it was Henry's voice.

"Where are you little bird?" he called out quietly in a heavy accent. I pressed myself against the wall further... he was looking for me. "Why dont you come out and sing a tune for me, I know you've sung one for the Captain..." I edged and stood beneath the stairs that led up to the helm, my heart pounding in my ears.

"Hello, little bird." Henry's voice drawled next to me. Looking over I suppressed a scream as Henry's face met mine, his gold and missing toothed smile like one in my nightmares. I breathed quickly and scrambled away from him as he made a grab for me, tearing my skirt on a nail. I hardly noticed. He chased me around the deck, our boots making thumps alike. I prayed that somebody would hear it and ducked behind a barrel. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my arm and force me to stand. An arm went around my waist and I struggled madly, kicking and biting anything that came into view.

Struggling I was thrown against a wall and a hand covered my mouth as I tried to scream, I kicked and struggled as his hand reached for my dress. His hand went up the skirt, sliding along my thigh, closer.

Quickly thinking, I pulled the butcher knife from around my thigh and dug it into his leg. He roared in pain and backed away from me, clutching his leg. I started to scramble up, but only fell back again as he made another lunge for me, throwing me to the ground and grabbing my throat. I began to choke and soon lost my furious state, my mind beginning to panic. The knife had spun out of reach. He was going to kill me... but I couldn't let him. Bringing my fist up, I clumsily punched my attacker in the face. It made no difference though, only resulting in making a very nasty bruise.

"Get off me!" I sputtered through my short breaths. Henry just smiled, sending a punch in the neck to me. I choked, unable to speak. But very suddenly, a boot appeared and Smith was kicked off of me. The pair of hands were ripped from my neck and I gasped for air, struggling to pull myself away from the man. I looked up at my savior... it was Jack Sparrow. Standing, I looked down at Smith in horror, still bringing in lungfuls of air, and clutching where he had punched me.

"Cap'n!" Smith said and stood up straight in attention.

"Did I not say to the crew not to lay a hand on Ms. Ricci?" Jack asked coldly and I leaned against the wall by his feet, unable to stand fully, fearful that Smith would try to grab me again.

"I was only having a little fun with her, Cap'n that's all." Smith said and I heard the crew rushing up on deck to see what the matter was. Gibbs looked from my torn dress, to my messed up hair, fearful eyes, and bruised face, coughing, to Smith, standing before the Captain, looking defiant and fearful, a bruise next to his eye, and finally to Jack, who looked in a rage.

"You'll leave this ship when we dock at Tortuga." Jack said, "Until then you will reside in the brig." Smith was grabbed by Joe and Glenn, who dragged him towards the brig entrance. Smith made a lunge for me but I calmly bent down, picking up the blood covered butcher knife, only to discard it to the side once more, disgusted. I felt safe next to the Captain and finally let my breath out when Smith disappeared down the steps into the dingy brig. Jack dismissed the crew back to bed as I still stood beside him, trying to find my voice, wheezing.

"Ye too luv." Jack said somewhat gently "I saw that bruise on Smith's face did ye do that?" I nodded and Jack gave a small laugh, "Maybe ye're not as weak as I thought..." he pondered and turned to leave. He was halfway across the deck and I still had not moved.

"Captain?" I croaked, finally abandoning my shock with disgust Jack turned around with question in his eyes, "Thank you." I said and took a step closer. "Thank you..." I repeated. Jack looked back at me for a moment.

"Ye're welcome... Ms. Ricci." I still didnt understand why, single minded he was, he called me "Ms." It seemed so beneath him. He turned once again.

"Captain!" I called after him and he turned around once more, regarding me with a curious expression.

"Yes, luv?" he sighed.

"It's Christina, Captain..." I said, barely audible and he smiled.

"Alright, Christina... then it be Jack to you." I smiled broadly and nodded before stepping into my room and falling onto the bed, discarding my last unharmed dress, now slit, slipping on my nightgown and falling into my bed, falling asleep and prey to nightmares once again.


	10. Chapter 10

"That's Tortuga?" I asked excitedly as the island came into full view. Dinner had been made ahead of time and I had already set it out on the table, caring not when the crewmembers ate. I did not make a meal for Smith, explaining to Gibbs that if the vermin wanted to eat, then he may have a piece of bread that was left over. Gibbs had nodded and left me to my work. I wasnt worried that the meal would go cold for the heat was still beating down upon our backs and faces, even as evening approached. I wiped my forehead with the netted sleeve of my black dress, worn slightly, ridding it of the perspiration.

"Aye luv." Jack replied, turning the wheel slightly, "Will you want to go ashore?" I nodded.

"Yes, Cap-Jack, please." I said, catching myself. He had had to correct me three times that day, insisting that I call him Jack... "That would be wonderful!" Jack smiled.

"Jack?" I said, daring to ask, "Do you think that, perhaps, I could learn how to sail?" Jack's brow furrowed. "I mean, for instance, lean how to... secure the... rigging is it?... climbing up to the sails looks like amazing fun. I learn quickly and work hard." The Captain next to me smiled, amused, and adjusted his grip on the wheel.

"I suppose, if you can keep up with yer job in the kitchen, then I could get some of me crewmen to teach you the basics... maybe I won't have to replace Smith if ye really learn quickly." I refrained from jumping with joy; finally I would get out of that kitchen! "But," Jack pulled me from my thoughts, "ye'll have to dress like a sailor and we'll need to pick you up some effects." I frowned... dress like a sailor? Not dresses? I though about Ana Maria's attire and shrugged... it might not be so terrible.

Jack and I stood at the helm in silence for the next half an hour, watching the sea rush by. Smiling at him, feeling awkward in the loss of conversation, I moved to the front of the Black Pearl, my signature spot and watched the dolphins, sitting on the railing and resting my chin in my hands. I looked back at Jack and saw that he was watching me, a tense look on his face, as if worried. I gave him a reassuring smile and wave of the hand and he looked back ahead, not returning it, but glancing back my way every once in a while.

Finally, when Tortuga was close enough to count every tree, I swung my legs back over the side and ran down to my cabin, taking about a fourth of my gold out and slipping it into a smaller coin pouch, I slipped my money into my skirt and exited the cabin to see that we were docked. Jack was waiting by the gangplank with the crew.

"Alright, mates," Jack said, "Be back by tomorrow at noon. We cast off then and I dont want to have to spend too long looking for you." The crew nodded and dispersed down the gangplank and into the city, scattering to various pubs and brothels to satisfy their urges and desires. Jack extended his hand out to me as he reached the bottom of the plank, beckoning me to follow him. I steadily made my way down the walkway stumbling a little. Jack chuckled as I clumsily came to the bottom and stepped onto the deck, sighing. Then, we made our way off the docks and into the small town of Tortuga.

Tortuga... where to start. The little town was filled with whores and drunks, hanging all over each other and laughing, even in the early evening. I wrinkled my nose at the sights around me. To my left lay a man, dumping mugs of rum down his throat while a woman stood above him, her skirt hanging over his face. I stalled and Jack took my arm, leading me and speeding me up to his own pace.

"Stay close luv and keep a sharp eye." He said and I nodded, finding myself with the urge to take out my knife. I followed the Captain to the very North of the town, which wasnt much better. Together, Jack and I walked inside a shoppe. Hanging on the walls were swords of every shape and size, thick ones, thin ones, short and long swords alike. Along the other wall and on the shelves were pistols, knives and boxes of bullets. There was no one at the front.

"Ye'll need a sword..." Jack said quietly and led me over to the wall, one in particular caught my eye and I ran my hand over the blade. The handle matched that of my father's dagger, black ivory, lined with gold. Jack caught me looking at it and looked around quickly before taking it down. "Ye wan' this one?" Jack asked me and I nodded slightly.

"Yes, this one will do." I said and took out my coin purse, extracting two gold pieces. Jack grabbed my arm and shook his head, pushing the sword into his belt before grabbing a black pistol and a couple boxes of bullets. He grabbed a sack off the wall and shoved it all inside before pulling me out the door. I walked next to him, appalled at what I had just witnessed.

"I-I did you just-?" Jack smirked at the look on my face. "That was wrong." I stated and Jack looked at me.

"Pirate." He reminded me and I nodded sardonically, "Besides," he continued, "Whoever owns that shop had it coming. They leave an armory wide open with no supervision in a pirate port." I thought about that and, finding nothing else to satisfy my conscience, finally agreed with him.

Next we entered a clothing store where I picked out two pairs of comfortable fitting black pants, two pairs of brown pants, two white shirts, a black, tight fitting shirt, two crimson ones, a black pair of boots, and a belt. Shoving Jack to the side, I crossed over to the front counter and carefully counted my gold, handing it over to a happy looking store owner. Jack waited by the door, his arms crossed and a hurried look on his face.

Finally, after running a few more errands for the ship's supplies, Jack took me inside a dress shop. I smiled when we entered and Jack watched me walk around and finger each dress, a smile on his face. I smiled broadly at him and finally took out an emerald green dress, paying for it quickly and leaving the shop and back out into the odd little town of Tortuga.

"So luv." Jack said as we sat down at a small table in a pub, filled with drunks and other pirates playing cards or fighting. The scent of perfume, body odor, and rum was enough to intoxicate me. "What do you think of Tortuga?" I thought for a moment.

"I'll definitely never forget it." I replied thoughtfully and with truth. Jack chuckled and nodded to the man who brought over two mugs of an amber colored liquid. Curious, I picked up the mug and peered inside as Jack guzzled down his cup. Smiling, I lazily handed him mine and he frowned.

"Ye're not gonna drink it luv?" he asked. I looked around at the men casting me lustful glances and I thought of Henry... shivering slightly and drawing my cloak around my body. I shook my head, still smiling, somewhat happy... I scolded myself for my good feelings... yet... I felt free for the first time in my life. I let my mind wander back home. With a soft chuckle I wondered what Mr. Olivet was doing back at the opera house; if he had believed what I told him in my note, and if he was going to replace me. Strangely, I didn't care... my life had been revolving around nothing but that opera and now it revolved around adventure and the open sea... I loved to perform... but this felt good too.

Very suddenly and to my surprise, a man came up to us and grinned broadly at me. "How much for your services?" the man asked me and pulled out a shilling holding it in his fingers.

"How much-" I stuttered and my eyes widened as I came to understand. Standing up I slapped the shilling out of his hand and pushed him away from the table, a shocked looking Jack staring at the scene. "I am not for you or anybody else to buy!" I nearly shouted. All eyes in the pub turned to me. "I am only in this town because I need information on a certain thing called Palori! Now, unless you have something to say on that matter, I suggest you leave. And that goes for anyone else in this bar!" The man raised his eyebrows at me furiously and narrowed his eyes.

"No wench talks to me like that!" he grumbled in a drunken slur and grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me away from Jack. I turned my face from his and tried to push him away while Jack pulled out his pistol.

"Let go of her mate." Jack said dangerously and cocked his gun. The pirate smiled and held me in front of him, the barrel of the gun in front of my face. I was terrified, my body chilling. I heard a gunshot and froze in shock. Jack lowered his gun and I realized that the shot had not come from him but from behind me. I stumbled as the man fell into me and Jack rushed forward, throwing the pirate off me. I looked back at the man that had shot the pirate and frowned as he approached us, backing away from the dead body.

His eyes were almond shaped and electric blue. He had one leg and hobbled on the peg that stuck out from the stump. He was large and about Jack's height. He tucked his gun into his belt and came up to the two of us. I stepped back slightly but met him full in the face, not letting any intimidation show.

"Thank you sir." I said not unkindly but not fondly either. The pirate looking man nodded.

"Yer welcome lass." He said and gestured to the table, "Mind if I drink with ye?" he asked and I frowned at him suspiciously.

"What are your intentions?" I asked evenly. He smiled.

"Good lass not to trust me." He chuckled, "Yer lookin' for Palori?" immediately I was interested and motioned for him to be seated, taking another seat beside Jack.

"What do you know of it?" Jack asked him, lowering his gaze.

"I know where it is... and how to get to it." I focused all my attention on the man in front of me intently.

"Oh really... Who are you?" Jack asked.

"Me name's not important... and I'll tell ye 'bout Palori... fer a price." The man looked at me and I shivered.

"It depends on the price, Signore." I told him moving away from him slightly. He chuckled.

"There's a jewel on the island." The man said and I eased up a bit, "I want it. Its about the size of you lass's fist and bright green."

"So if you tell us about Palori you want us to brave all hasten and get this jewel fer you?" Jack asked and the man nodded.

"That'll be it." He said and I nodded.

"We'll do it." I said, ignoring Jack's look. The man grinned a toothy grin.

"Alrigh' then. Palori is a treasure, located in the exact center of the entire Caribbean. The only reason why nobody has ever found it is because a man named Raymond Ricci put a spell, in a manner o' speakin' onto the island with the help of an obei woman to where only a Ricci, blood related, could see it." I looked down and then back up at Jack.

"Raymond Ricci is the grandfather of Christina Ricci." I said, cautiously.

"Tha's right."

"What about the curse on the treasure... I heard something about souls of Palori." I said vaguely, referring to my letter.

"The curse on Palori was that anyone that ventured upon the island without a Ricci would die immediately and their soul would stay to guard the treasure until a true Ricci removed it. Then the souls would be released into the next world." I nodded thoughtfully.

"I dont suppose you have a map or something do you mate?" Jack asked and the man with no name smiled again, showing off his missing and silver teeth.

"Only if you got a way on the island." He said and I sighed.

"I'm Christina Ricci. My father was taken from my home and taken off by pirates." I said.

"I thought so." He smiled and took out a roll of parchment, decorated by symbols and markings. I took it from his hand and looked over it eagerly. This was it... the chance to save my father.

"My grandfather was a pirate, Signore?"

"Aye, one o' the best lass." Smiling slightly I stood, shook the man's hand, and dragged Jack up and away from his rum. Grumbling, Jack reluctantly stood and stood beside me, walking away from the man.

"Oh and if ye want to know what ship yer father is on..." I stopped short and turned around, "It be the Seagull." I didn't ask how he knew... I didn't really care. I just smiled gratefully at him and made my way back out of the pub, Jack leading me, dodging unwanted hands.

Jack and I left the pub and began making our way back to the Black Pearl. I imagined that as soon as I was on board Jack would run off to his brothels and drink and fill his every heart's desire. Somehow it disquieted me... the thought of another woman's hands on Jack by some means made me feel something I had never felt before... was it jealousy? Suddenly something caught my eye.

It was a music shop, filled with instruments of all kinds. Letting in a long gasp, I immediately grabbed Jack's hand, not quite knowing what I was doing, and rushed inside.

Immediately I found what I was looking for as the owner nodded to the two of us. Up on a stand in the back of the shop was a medium sized, dark wood, violin.

Picking up the violin, I smiled and held it to my neck, barely believing that my fingers still knew how to play. I looked around the shop, from the owner who was watching me, to Jack, who was pocketing anything valuable and small enough to fit in pockets.

I slipped the bow gracefully over the strings, my fingers pressing down on the correct cords to make a beautiful sound. My smile broadened as the owner of the store smiled at me and sat back, listening to what I played. Finally the piece was done and I set the violin back down on the stand, smiling again and striding out of the shop.

"Young lady!" the Irish owner called back and I turned around, realizing that I had just walked away without a word to anyone and left Jack in the shop. Blushing in my oblivious state, I walked back into the shop and approached the owner. "Yer not buyin' the violin?" he asked and I shook my head.

"I'm afraid I dont have enough money, sir." I said meekly, Jack coming up behind me. "I just wanted to play it... it's been so long since I last picked one up..." the owner nodded, half smiling, half disappointed at the lack of business. Then, giving him a last nod I left the shop, Jack stepping to the right of me.

"What was that back there, luv?" Jack asked, as we made our way through the night streets of Tortuga back towards the ship.

"I dont know..." I replied, smiling. "I just saw it and I wanted to play." I smiled again as memories ran through my mind and I fell into my thoughts, not paying attention as we climbed up the gangplank and onto the ship. I turned to Jack before going into my cabin.

"Thank you Jack." I said, "I had a wonderful time... and I have a lead to where my father is going!" I held up the map and smiled before walking into my cabin, not waiting for a response from the Captain, leaving him to his brothels and rum all through the night. Lighting a candle I sat at my desk, not tired in the least, and ran my fingers over the map... I was going to find my father.


	11. Chapter 11

_Only a Ricci...  
The fire... the pirates... my mother...  
The treasure... _

My eyes shot open, my brain moving much too fast for my body. That's why my mother died I thought They were after us... and the treasure. That's why Mama and Papa always locked the doors... Why didnt they tell me? I shook those thoughts from my head and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I looked out my cabin door, noticing that it was awfully quiet for such a late hour.

Then I remembered Tortuga. Of course the crew was probably passed out all over the town still. I chuckled and entered my cabin once again, grabbing the sack that the Captain and I used and dumping it onto my bed. Swiftly, I pulled out a pair of black pants, a white shirt, and a black vest. Casting a quick glance around as if I thought my father would pop out at me at any moment, I pulled off my nightgown and pulled on the garments, admiring how comfortable they felt.

Hesitating before doing so, I turned and looked in the mirror... it didn't look too bad. I noted how the clothing complimented my curves and hid, what I thought were, my flaws. Pulling on my new boots, I opened my door again and walked out into the fresh air, letting it play with my hair. With some difficulty I strapped my belt around my middle, pushing the sword into its sheath and my father's pistol, fully loaded. Finally I tucked my father's dagger into my belt as well and sat on a barrel of powder that sat by the mast, gazing out into the water, one leg bent as my arm rested on it, the other hanging off swinging slowly.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
As Captain Jack Sparrow made his way back to the Black Pearl he couldnt help but let his mind wander to Christina. The early sun beat down on his head as he thought about the night before. After dropping Christina off he had gone straight to a bar, where he drank and had a night of pleasurable company. But when he thought about that night a curious feeling would come over him. Another faceless woman... a common whore who only did it because she had to. She didnt love him... love... Jack frowned wondering why now, of all times, he started caring about such a silly word. What was there to Christina that no ordinary woman had anyway?

He answered his own question as he pictured her smiling face in his mind. She was beautiful, witty, bright, comfortable to talk to, and willing for adventure. Something else Jack liked... no not liked... he fought with himself... alright, found curious about the girl was that she had a spark to her, pride raged inside her like a flame that threatened to erupt if impugned or tested... not many women had that... but she was humble enough not to be snobbish or full of herself... she certainly was curious. Jack thought about the joy and peacefulness that had filled her face when she sung... and when she played the violin, and smiled before entering a special shoppe.  
- - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

Gibbs was the first one to arrive back at the ship, clutching one side of his head from something he called a hangover has he grumbled past and retreated into the crew's quarters.

Not a moment after Gibbs came Joe, strapping his belt on tighter. He stalled at the sight of her. "Christina..." he mumbled, trying to find the right words, "It suits you." I smiled.

"Really? Thank you!" Joe nodded and followed Gibbs into the crew's quarters.

Ten minutes went by and nobody else came up the gangplank but Ana Maria, who looked me over before walking off mumbling something like "much better" and "not bad". I grinned and leaned my head against the mast, closing my eyes and letting the sun tan my face further.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
Jack stepped up the gangplank to find Christina, leaning her head back against the mast, one leg up, one hanging, and her elbow on the former... she certainly was beautiful... and as the pants and vest clung to her body he couldnt help but look (not that he would want to help it)... she looked as piraty as she had hoped... but...

"It's missing something luv."  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV- - - - - - -

My eyes shot open at the sound of a voice and I looked up, grasping the knife on my leg but relaxed when I saw that it was only Jack. He was standing before me, wearing a smirk as his eyes traveled my body. I waved my hand in front of his face, a sardonic look on my face.

"My eyes are up here Jack." I told him. Jack's smirk widened.

"Yes they are, luv, and no matter how pleasant they are to look at, I'm lookin' down there." He replied and I crossed my arms over my chest. Jack frowned at the loss of his view and looked up at my face.

"No you're not." I said and Jack smiled. It was then that I noticed that Jack had something behind his back. "What's my outfit missing? What's that?" I asked, trying to see but Jack backed up, wagging his finger in my face.

"Ask me no questions, Christy, and I'll tell you no lies." I rolled my eyes and jumped down off the barrel as Jack walked away and into his cabin, whatever he was hiding still hidden in front of him. Frowning, I pulled out my new sword off my belt and swung it a couple of times. I knew the basics, but nothing more. Jack came back out of his cabin and smiled when he saw me gracefully turning yet swing my sword not so. I twisted again, only to lock swords with Jack.

My eyes widened in surprise and I took my sword down and took a step back. Jack smirked again and gestured to my sword.

"Ye need lessons..." he said. I laughed.

"I've had four." I countered, laughter echoing through my words, "One reluctant one from Will and three from an old sailor in a pub. He was a frequent visitor and taught me the basics of working a sword."

"Well, four lessons isnt gonna cut it if yer gonna be a pirate luv." I smiled and pointed my sword at him. The Captain smiled and adjusted my hand slightly, sending a confusing shiver up my arm.

Jack and I fought for a good ten to twenty minutes before I fell back, the sword knocked from my hand. I laughed, ignoring the sweat that trickled down my hairline.  
"I could have beaten you." I said matter-of-factly, "My hair was in the way." Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Alright then..." he said and reached into his pocket, pulling out a crimson bandana, "Which reminds me, what's missing; I got you this." I took it, a smile on my face and let Jack help me put it on, holding back my hair. I reached back and braided my long black hair, tying a string at the end. A few curls hung on each side of my face and Jack backed away, admiring his work.

"Still think you can beat me luv?" he asked and I hesitated before nodding.

By the time Jack had beaten me again the entire crew was back. I picked myself back off the ground, pushing my sword back into its sheath and sticking my tongue out at Jack Sparrow, who smirked and put his own sword away before bowing and jumping up to the helm.

"Get ready to make sail after ye eat!" Jack called out as the crew filed into the kitchen, eating the meal that I had prepared at an earlier hour. I walked up to the Captain, threw him an apple, and laughed as he nearly dropped it.

"Thank ye luv." Jack said.

"What can I do Captain? The meals for the day are stored in the icebox. I am not needed in the kitchen." I asked and Jack put a finger to the corner of his mouth.

"Well..." he said, "The deck hasnt been scrubbed in a long while. You can do that and, like you wanted, secure the rigging when it needs it." I nodded and turned around before halting in my tracks.

"What about Smith, Cap-Jack?" I asked. Jack looked around as the crew left the galley and began securing ropes and setting loose the sails.

"He'll be set adrift back to Tortuga when we get out a bit." Jack said and I nodded, satisfied. I was paying to take this voyage, as well as working, and I was going to make sure it was safe.

"Thank you." I said and crossed to the broom cupboard, pulling out a bucket and a scrub brush. Quickly, I made my way to the side of the ship and dropped the bucket into the water before pulling it back up by a rope. I wasnt sure if I was supposed to use salt water but I dared not ask. I was going to do this job fast, perfectly, and without help so that I could do something else. Scrubbing was something I had always let the maids do.

Getting down on my hands and knees, I furiously scrubbed the deck, not caring that my pants were soaked from the water that I scrubbed the filthy deck with.

A thump interrupted me and I looked up from my work to see Smith being taken out of the brig. He glared at me with more hatred than I could ever feel... I glared back.  
Smith was put in an extra rowboat and lowered down into the water. I leaned against the side of the ship, away from Henry Smith, who was slowly making his way back to Tortuga...

Why did Jack let him go? A though struck me... any other pirate, and many men for that matter, would have just warned him not to do it again and kept a better eye on him.

"None of us liked Smith much." Ana Maria's voice yanked me from my thoughts, "'Bout a year ago he brought the governor of Port Marco's daugher onto this ship and had his way with her. Sent half of Marcos's Navy after us. The Captain wasnt very happy with him." I wrinkled my nose.

"What a horrible man!" I exclaimed. Ana Maria just shrugged.

"He could'a killed her." She said and I looked down, silently agreeing.

"What's yer name again?" Ana Maria asked.

"Ricci, Christina Ricci."

"Christina." Ana Maria mumbled, trying it out on her tongue, "Not a bad name."

"Thank you," I replied strangely, "Yours isn't either..." there was an awkward pause... "Perhaps you and I could get to know each other better..." I said and Ana Maria seemed to be pulled from thoughts.

"Yeah." She said heartily, "Maybe you're not as much of a prissy perfect lady as I thought." I laughed.

"Guess you'll find out." And with a last nod, Ana Maria walked off, leaving me back to my own thoughts and work.

I ran the brush over the wood, as if trying to rid my confusion from my mind as it strayed to the Captain once again...

He was handsome, even with his dirty dreadlocks and lack of personal hygiene... he was still handsome. Constantly I had felt myself becoming lost in his chocolate brown eyes, not really sure why... I looked back up at the helm, where Jack stood and frowned as my heart skipped a beat... it's not love... I thought... not love.

"Captain!" Bill's voice echoed from above and I looked up from my spot on the barrel, leaning on the mast in the same fashion as before, looking over my finished work and allowing my aching arms and blistering hands to wind down. Bill was up in the crows nest, pointing hurriedly behind us.

"An approaching ship, Captain!" Gibbs and I rushed to the stern of the Black Pearl, as Jack turned around quickly.

"What colors is she flying Gibbs?" Jack asked and Gibbs squinted to see the tiny flag on the ship, approaching rapidly. But my younger eyes spotted the symbol first.

"It's the Jolly Roger!" I called to Jack and he nodded, turning back to the wheel. Gibbs was at the helm in a second and looked at Jack.

"What do we do Cap'n?" he asked. Jack shrugged.

"Shes no threat to us at the moment Master Gibbs." Jack replied leisurely.

"And if she does try to attack us?" I asked worriedly. Jack smirked at me.

"The wind is on our side. We can get away if we try hard enough." Jack paused, "But be ready. We dont know how skilled they are." I nodded and returned to my spot by the mast, closing my eyes only to breathe in the salty air and stand up again at a pirates call.

"Lass!" Sam called and I rushed over to him to find that he has a tight grip on a rope, which held a sail of place. The sail had come loose in the wind.

"Yes?" I asked, pulling my shirt straighter.

"Hold onto this will ye?" he asked me and I nodded, grabbing hold of the thick rope. I pulled back on it, Sam supporting it only until I had my footing.

"Ready?" I braced myself and Sam let go.

The weight that I found surprised me and I faltered only for a moment. My brow furrowed in effort and concentration. I held the sail in place while Sam tied the others down, fighting the wind and the enormous sail. My arms felt as if they were on fire, sweat leaking slightly from my bandana and into my eyes.

Finally, after what seemed like hours yet I knew it was only minutes, Sam came back and tied the rope that I had down. I sighed and stepped back a couple steps, my arms screaming in relief. Sam nodded, a grin on his face.

"Thank ye... maybe I was wrong about you." He said.

"Youre welcome." I smiled faintly but tensed slightly when I noticed that the pirate ship was passing us. I pulled out my fathers pistol, and watched as they came upon our starboard side.

Jack and the Captain of the other ship, who had short, bright blonde hair, tied back, nodded to each other before the Black Pearl passed her, a smirk on Jacks face, and continuing off. I sighed and put my pistol back into my belt.

Quickly realizing that the sun was setting, I rushed to the ice box below deck, pushing away the goat that was tied to a pole, and pulled out the meal that I had prepared in a large pot. I went back up to the galley, lighting the fire stove and heating up the meals before putting them on the table just as the pirates sat down. Smiling slightly I took my place next to Jack and only nodded, mumbling "Thank you" when I was complimented on my cooking, my mind wandering off to other places and times.

I left the table after saying a hurried goodnight to the crew and entered my cabin, looking in the mirror. I had gone from "princess" to pirate... I laughed. What would my father say?

**BANG !** the ship lurched and sent me tumbling off my small bed and onto the hardwood floor. Groaning slightly, I stood up, only to be knocked against the wall as another tremendous **BANG** rocked the Black Pearl.

"STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!" Jacks voice rang out and a bustle came from outside my door as the crew ran above deck. Sighing quickly, I pulled my pants on, not noticing my nightgown hung over them. I grabbed my belt and hurriedly strapped it around my hips. Then, pulling on my boots, I ran out the cabin door.

The sight that awaited me caused me to hesitate in fear. A gasp escaped my lips.

The ship that had come by us earlier that day stood, anchored in the water next to the Black Pearl, its white sails, patched here and there shone in the moonlight and the white letters on the side of the ship said "THE MERMAID". All across the deck of the Black Pearl stood pirates, the sounds of yelling, gunshots, and swords clashes ringing in my ears.

To my relief, as I did a short head count, everyone was still alive and even a few of the opposing crew lay dead, blood running onto the deck... yet to my horror I saw Jack, in concentrated combat with a skilled swordsman... as the Captain of the Mermaid advanced behind him. Jack Sparrow was going to die.

The opposing Captain raised his pistol and aimed for Jacks back. Just as he cocked his gun I rushed out of my hiding place.

"JACK, MOVE!" I nearly screamed and shoved the Captain of the Black Pearl off to the side and out of his battle just as the pistol fired with a **BANG**! A searing pain went through my stomach on the far let side and my eyes widened. The Captain smirked at me and turned to kill Jack with another cock of the pistol and a strange feeling swept over me as I lunged at him, bringing my sword across his neck in a single swipe. A gurgle came from his throat and warm blood rushed onto my hands. My vision quickly faded as my blood ran down my nightgown which I still had on over my pants and onto the deck. Blackness took me as I fell to the ground, right into someones arms.

- - - - - - - JACKS POV - - - - - - -  
The Captain of the Black Pearl caught Christina Ricci as she fell to the ground, causing blood to run heavily onto the sleeve of his shirt. The opposing crew noticed their Captain to be dead and fled back to the Mermaid like dogs running with their rails between their legs, leaving a cheering crew behind them.

Jack, meanwhile, had gathered Christina in his arms and picked her up bridal style.  
"Clean up the bodies!" Jack called to the crew, some of them nurturing wounds, others wiping their swords onto their pants, "And get me some rum!" Glenn rushed into the kitchen before coming out with two bottles of rum, running after Jack as he carried Christina into his cabin.

Quickly and wordlessly, Jack swiped all the papers and rum bottles off the desk, nearly shattering the bottles on the wooden floor. Glenn, without needing been told, tucked a pillow under Christinas head, her breath coming in short rasps and her stomach bleeding heavily. Jack then, lied her down on the table and pulled up her nightgown.

Still silently, Jack poured rum onto Christinas side, earning a painful groan and twist from her. Glenn left the room after nodding to the Captain, going to help the crew throw the dead bodies overboard and clean up the blood off the deck.

Jack, still in the meanwhile, had taken out his dagger. Hesitating a bit, he put his hand on her bare stomach and touched the dagger to her skin.

"This is gonna hurt luv." Jack said, though he knew she couldnt hear him, and dug the dagger into her side, fishing out the bullet. Christinas eyebrows furrowed in her unconscious state and she cried out, twisting as Jack held her stomach down with one of his elbows, his eyebrows still furrowed in concentration.

Finally, the blood covered bullet fell to the ground with a slight thump and Jack tore a strip from his shirt, wrapping the wound tightly, stopping the blood flow. Her face was white and she was hot to the touch with fever and loss of blood. Then, he pulled off her nightgown, taking full advantage of the situation with his eyes and pants, pulling one of his shirts over her head, finally lying her down on his bed and pulling the covers over her as she shivered.

As Jack pulled a chair up next to her bed he looked into the womans sleeping, yet unpeaceful face, and felt a powerful need to be there with her... to protect her... to make her happy... she saved my life he thought but deep inside he knew that wasnt why he was feeling these things... it wasnt debt... he sighed... it was something else...  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -


	12. Chapter 12

Commodore James Norrington sat at his desk, charts and quills organized neatly across it. His quill moved fiercely as he signed off the hanging of a caught pirate, due to die at dawn the next day.

He set down the quill, blew on his seal and rolled up the parchment before handing it to the uniformed man next to him. Norrington straightened his hat, resting on top of his white powdered wig and reached for the next parchment almost mechanically... but was interrupted.

"Sir!" a tall, bulky man in a red uniform entered the room. Norrington looked up, annoyed at the interruption of his routine.

"Yes?" he asked curtly.

"One of the Ricci household maids is here, Commodore. She has some... well disturbing news sir. She's in near hysterics."

"The Ricci household?" Norrington's brow creased, "show her in." the red uniformed soldier nodded curtly before stepping out of a woman's way. Norrington stood to greet the tear filled maid.

"How ca I be o-"

"James and Anabelle!" the maid, dressed in a long red gown with a white apron and cap. She spoke with a heavy Spanish accent. "James and Anabelle, Commodore!" Norrington stood, taken aback as the soldier helped the hysterical maid into a chair. "James and Anabelle, Commodore, please! Por favor! They are both dead!" At this point the woman had Norrington's full attention.

"Dead?" he asked incredulously.

"Si, dead!" the maid choked, "And the Master and Miss are gone!"

"Madam, please calm down and start at the beginning." Norrington said slowly and clearly. The Spanish servant sniffled and struggled to take a deep breath before talking rapidly again.

"I came back to the Ricci manor after Sunday because the Ricci's give us the day off. James and Anabelle are the only two servants that stay because they have nowhere else to go and live at the manor. Anyways, when I went in I realized that the house was very quiet and had a funny smell to it." She choked through her tears, "so I went upstairs to sinorita Ricci's room to find that someone had written 'ye've been warned' on the wall. I hurried into Signor Ricci's chambers and found James." She began to cry, "He's been shot. There was a horrible smell in the room and blood on the Master's sheets. Anabelle was in the lavatory... dead too... and the Master and Miss are gone!" Norrington rose from his chair quickly as the woman buried her face into her small hands again, her brown hair falling down as her shoulders racked with sobs.  
"Take the maid back to her home." Norrington ordered the soldier, "I'll go to the Ricci house." Then, before gesturing to two blue uniformed men, guns over their shoulders to follow him, they set off towards the coast... towards the Ricci manor, dread piercing Norrington's heart.

The maid was right. In the upstairs Master bedroom blood was splattered across the sheets and two bodies lay dead on the floors, both covered in sheets, the dry blood caked to their faces. They had both been shot in the forehead. Norrington had the bodies removed, though that did not eradicate the overwhelming scent of rotting flesh with them.

Norrington covered his nose slightly with his hand and breathed through his mouth, instead tasting what he could not smell.

A large thick knife lay on the floor, dried blood staining it. Norrington picked it up and studied it, his eyebrows wrinkled before leaving the room, the scent and taste beginning to nauseate him.  
He crossed down the hall and into Christina's room where someone had painted in black paint, a half empty paint can on the ground, spilling onto the wooden floor.

**YEVE BEEN WARNED **

Norrington's frown deepened as e walked around this room as well.

Odd... he noted as he opened the closet. All the large dresses with long, poofing skirts had been thrown aside and many hangers stood empty. Norrington had never inspected the wealthy daughter's closet before but it did not take a genius to see that it had been gone through. _Who was in her closet?/_ Norrington thought, _Why_

Norrington climbed down the stairs light footed and entered the sitting room.

"Sir?" one officer pointed to the painting on the wall, no doubt Christina's mother... but it was not the painting that disturbed Norrington... it was the way it was hung... lopsided. Quickly, the Commodore took down the painting and nodded... just as he thought.

Behind the painting of Gina Ricci was a safe. It was closed, to Norrington's dismay for he couldn't inspect it. Sighing, he replaced the portrait and left the sitting room, finding nothing else but the arrangement of pillows on the couch disturbed... nothing of value.

Finally, he entered the guest room where, again, the closet had been disturbed and the vanity gone through.

Norrington frowned, his brain whirring with confusion as he made his way out of the house and into Port Royal, through the streets.

"Don't you find it curious," he said to the red coated soldier next to him though more to himself, "That there is no sign of a struggle, that both Edward and Christina Ricci are gone, leaving blood everywhere nonetheless, and that the only places disturbed are Miss Ricci's closet, vanity, and a safe that doesn't appear to have been tried to be broken into?" The officer nodded... "We need to find Christina Ricci... and we'll start at the opera house."

The Port Royal opera house stood as tall as thirty grown men and as wide as a thousand, its tall, domed entrance, paneled letting the little sun, peeking through the clouds, in. Large, oak paneled doors opened into a large entry room, documents lying on tables and staircases leading to the seemingly millions of rooms of the opera house.

Commodore James Norrington was led through the halls by a stiff backed butler with charcoal grey hair and a wrinkled face, small eyes, proving to be impossible to tell the color, and a less than cheerful face, displaying one sense of absolute boredom.

As the Commodore, soldiers, and tailor-suited butler made their way into the theatre room, they couldn't help but marvel at the architecture, as music filled their ears. Along the sides of the seating, closest to the sage were boxes, four velvet seats in each and under the foot railing was a single number, numbering off the boxes that were surrounded by beautiful gold designs.

Above them was another floor of seating, exactly the same as the one beside them, each chair of the finest red velvet, and the railings of mahogany. A lavish brown carpet covered the entire floor, halting at the orchestra's seating place on the left side, where twenty people sat, conducted by a middle aged man, waving a small rod gracefully, his head inclining every so often.

Norrington's eyes traveled to the stage where a long, red haired woman stood in a green dress, spanning out like an upside down Japanese fan. She was raising her voice to a ridiculously high and appalling sound. Norrington tried to hide his displeasure but failed horribly, ending up in closing his eyes.

Finally, the note ended and two men stepped forward. Norrington stole his chance.

"Monsieur Chapal!" (Sha-pal) he called to a little man, rushing out of the side stage, his black hair, pulled back and covered in grease to hold it in place. The green-eyed French opera director turned, startled at the sudden interruption.

"Bonjour Monsieur Norrington." He said, "to what do I owe this pleasure?" he was uneasy, stressed.

"I'm looking for Christina Ricci." Chapal frowned.

"Christina's not here Commodore." He said, "For a shame for our performance because she is the main attraction. She needs to be here for rehearsals. We're planning to perform 'The Phantom of the O-"

"Opera." Norrington finished for him, "Based off the novel. Yes, I have my tickets." There was a pause, "Where is Miss Ricci at the moment?" the opera director shrugged.

"Somewhere in Italy I gather." he said, "A blacksmith brought me in a note from her, explaining that she was going there with her father to tend to an ill family member."

"A blacksmith?"

"Oui." The French man replied, "Tall man, black hair..." Norringotn nodded distractedly, but his suspicious thoughts were interrupted.

"Monsier Chapal?" An Englishman's voice echoed through the theatre as another man entered the stage, buttoning the top of his loose fitting white, cotton shirt, his sandy blonde hair falling straight on either side of his face, making his features appear to be long and lean. His olive green eyes widened as he halted, his next words hushed.

"Oh..." he said, "I'm sorry I didn't realize" he was boyish, but there was a sense of dignity in the man, making his aura more masculine, differing from his charm.

"No, no John." Chapal interrupted, "the Commodore here is looking for Christina." A strange look crossed "John's" face as he frowned.

"Christina?" he asked, "Why, is she alright? I thought she was perhaps taking time off for her father. I intended to call on her tonight." The Commodore smiled slightly.

"I merely wanted to have a few words with her father," Norrington lied, "but I see that they have left for Italy."

"Christina did not go to Italy." John interrupted, "I would know."

"And why would _you_ know that?"

"Because," John Walked stated matter-of-factly, "Christina Ricci is my fiance."


	13. Chapter 13

"I killed a man."

Those were the first words that came to my lips as I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling. I felt what had happened what felt like moments before playing and replaying in my mind.  
"I killed a man."

All my life I had been brought up a good Catholic Italian girl, never having stolen or killed because I believed that it was evil. Now, within two weeks of being in a pirates company, I had killed a man and stolen from a dress shoppe.

At first I tried to tell myself that it was self that it was self-defense... but I knew that wasn't true. He had already shot me. I remembered a feeling rising in my throat as my sword went through him... it was revenge. Revenge for my mother's death, revenge for my missing father, for my torn family... for everything. Seeing the pirate die had brought me joy. I let my head fall to the side, suddenly realizing that I wasn't in my bed... or in _my clothes_ for that matter. I looked around, afraid to sit up, hazily remembering the excruciating pain and Jack's words, the stinging, the pain… I turned my head.

Jack Sparrow was seated at my bedside, his body leaned down, his head and arm resting on the bed. I looked at his sleeping figure and felt a jump of my heart. It had not just been revenge... I had killed that man to save Jack's life. _I can't lie to myself any longer._ I thought _I love him._

Letting my breath out, I tried to sit up, but was stopped by a wave of pain and dizziness. I let out a soft cry and fell back, waiting for it to subside... I was cold. Pulling up the blankets (Jack's blankets, on his bed, in his cabin) I shivered.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
Jack opened his brown, kohl lined eyes as a cry reached his ears. Sitting up, he noticed that Christina had awoken for the first time in two days. She was hot to the touch and Jack watched as she pulled the blankets closer to her, her eyes still closed, sweat beading down her pale face, contorted in pain. From her mouth whispered a string of obscene words that Jack never thought would come from her. His eyes widened slightly before he smirked.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

I finished ranting and opened my eyes, the pain having subsided a considerable amount now that I wasn't moving, I felt the sweat running down my face and felt as if it was snowing around me. I was so cold, yet when I reached up and touched my face I was hot. I smiled in amusement.

"Nice to see you smiling luv." Jack's voice. I jumped and looked over at Jack who was awake, grinning at me. Shame washed over me.

"You didnt hear... did you?" Jack smirked wider.

"No." He was lying, obviously. A cramp was beginning to form in my leg and I reached down to rub it. With surprise I realized that I no longer had my leather pants on, but only my underclothes and...Jack's shirt. A blush crept up my cheeks but I refused to let it show.

Jack was pulling the blanket back and pulling up the shirt to inspect my side. I felt exposed, self conscious as he removed the bloody piece of cloth and tied a new strip around the wound, which had, to my relief, stopped bleeding, though the skin was open, scabbed and red. I turned my eyes away from the sight.

"How long have I been out?" I asked Jack as he finished tying my bandage my hand in my mouth to stop the soft sobs of pain.

"Two days luv." Jack replied gently yet seriously, "I thought ye weren't gonna make it." I laughed, the joy quickly turning to pain as it engulfed my stomach.

"I've had worse." I tried to tell him but I was sure he didn't believe me. I thought of the burn mark on my arm.

"Are ye hungry Christy?" Jack asked and for the first time I realized I was. I nodded modestly.

"I'll be right back." The Captain promised and left me alone to gaze at the door that had closed behind him. _I saved his life._ I thought _that's the only reason why he's caring for me. He's in my debt._ I could not bring myself to believe it...

I thought about the past two days and felt a rush of mixed feelings toward the Captain of the Black Pearl. It was awkward imagining him dressing my wound, changing my clothes, bathing my face… and yet, of course, I felt gratitude for all he had done. I raised my knuckles and rubbed my aching temples. _Why must the man be so confusing?_

A week passed.

I lied in bed, staring at the dark wood ceiling for what seemed like hours, my body getting more and more restless by the second. Jack came in the door and threw his hat on the table distractedly, smiling at me and uncorking a rum bottle with his teeth, taking a swig.

For the last four days Jack had taken quite good care of me in my weak state. My pride had dropped to a minimum but I didn't care.

Jack finished his rum in only a few swigs and set the empty bottle on the table, next to the half a dozen others. I finally sighed loudly and turned to the Captain.

"Jack?" I asked timidly.

"Yes luv?"

"I can't lie here a moment longer. Could I please go out?" I missed the fresh air and my muscles longed for movement. Jack frowned.

"You don't want to open the wound back up luv." He said seriously. I struggled to sit up best I could, sending pains through my side.

"Please Jack?" I nearly begged. "If I don't get out of bed I'll die!" Jack eyes locked with mine and he sighed.

"Alright luv. Can't deny a woman." He finally said and I smiled wide, continuing to pull myself up, "But I'm carrying you." I sighed and refrained from rolling my eyes as I threw the covers off and reached for my pants. I let Jack hold up my middle, a smirk on his face. I glared at him.

"What are you smiling about?" I demanded.

"I'm just enjoying this arrangement." He replied, his smirk widening, "Perhaps we'll do this again?"

"In your dreams." I retorted, tying the string to my pants and allowing myself to be let down. Jack shrugged.

"Worth a try luv." He put one arm on my back and the other under my legs, lifting me. My heart jumped painfully (or was it from my side that was now screaming in pain at me) as he lifted me and I felt myself in his arms. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and let my head rest on his shoulder. I could see his smirk.

I was greeted by wonderful sun and smiling crewmember's faces as they greeted me. I just smirked and closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh air as Jack carried me up to the bow of the ship and sat me down on the side, his arm on my shoulder to keep me from falling. He was so close to me, as I gazed out into the horizon, I could feel his hot breath on the back of my neck and I shivered. I turned to smile and thank him...

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
Her back was pressed against his chest as he supported the woman who saved his life. Christina turned, a hint of a smile on her face.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

Jack Sparrow's lips came down onto mine, caring yet hungry, tender yet fierce. My eyes widened in shock as his lips caressed mine, taking my breath away, and sending a million thoughts through my mind. He pulled away and gave me a crooked smile as I breathed deeply yet shakily.

"I never did thank you for saving me luv." Jack said quietly. He was still unbelievably close.

"I-I couldn't let you die." I replied truthfully. His chocolate brown eyes were looking into mine and I felt the emotional wall I had put up so many years ago fall. The locked cover of my diary broken open and the story of my life shining through my ocean blue eyes. I felt exposed, naked in his gaze and shrunk back, fear coursing through my body as I was afraid he was trying to hurt me. I couldn't understand the thoughts and feeling running through my mind... they scared me.

Jack's eyebrows wrinkled as a single tear fell down my cheek, leaving a wet trail. One hand held my neck as his thumb wiped it away. I knew he saw the fear in my eyes as I tried not to show it, and I knew he didn't understand. His hand was still on my cheek and I felt his touch warm my body until it glowed.

I shut my eyes and looked down, trying not to cry. Why was he doing this to me? I felt a finger underneath my chin and my face was tilted up.

"You know luv," Jack said, "You don't have to be this brave all the time." I let my breath out.

"Yes I do." His lips captured mine again and this time I gave in to his touch, wrapping my hands around his neck and responding with my lips.

We broke away and I felt something that I hadn't felt in years... whole. No more broken girl, trying to find who she is, never really gaining love... never able to trust anyone, to get too close to anyone. But that was me then... somehow I knew I had changed.

"I knew you'd warm up to me." He said and I kept my face still, turning back around and gazing out into the water again. And as I leaned back against Jack's chest, talking about everything and nothing I couldn't help but wonder... what would John think?

***********

John P Walker and I met at the age of twenty one, both young adults looking for a part in the newest opera performance "La Rosa". I was even more hot blooded and didn't tolerate any cheek from anyone. I prided myself on it.

A beggar man, sitting on the corner smiled at me and made a crude call. I whipped my head toward him and threw a piercing gaze that would shrink even the butcher. His smile faded and he stood, hobbling away.

"My, my. I could almost see the daggers coming from those blue eyes." I turned quickly and was greeted by a sandy blonde, olive green eyed, thin man, dressed in a black suit and hat that had seen better days looking at me. I said nothing to this stranger. He looked down awkwardly before looking back at me. I had to smile at his boyish charm and a grin lit his face.

"Well," he said, "good day." And I walked away and into the all too familiar opera theatre.

I had sung as a chorus girl since the age of fifteen and, whether I believed or not, the director had told me that I was ready to try out to be a solo performer. As I walked into the opera theatre I felt a rush of excitement that felt all to familiar, the sound of soft music coming from the stage room as I entered.

My hands were shaking and I pressed them together as I bit my lip slightly. Monsieur Chapal sat in the front row, a quill in one hand, and an encouraging smile on his face.

I opened my red lipped mouth and began to softly sing, getting faster and louder, louder, louder until even the people on the outside of the theatre, I knew, could hear. The other viewers in the audience sat, dumbstruck but all that came to my mind were negative thoughts. _I missed that note. My pitch was too high_ I honestly had no idea how wonderful I sounded.

Applause awaited me when I was finished and I lowered myself into a curtsy/bow before leaving the stage.

Many voices later Monsieur Chapal approached me.

"Mademoiselle Ricci!" he exclaimed "How wonderful, the beauty of your voice!" I blushed furiously.

"Thank you signore but-"

"You were wonderful! Your mother would have been so proud." A pang hit my heart when he mentioned my mother and I looked down. _I'll take the part_ I thought _but he'll be sorry._ I thanked him and walked away, making a note to come to rehearsal the next day.

Frost covered the streets of Port Royal as I stepped out of the opera house, my red and gold dress hugging to my corset squeezed waist though, thankfully, there weren't very many skirts, keeping my appearance normal enough. I had never been the type for billowing skirts, except for when my father forced me to wear them to formal occasions. I pulled my hood up around my hair and stepped out into the bitter cold air. I smiled to myself. _Mama would be proud._ I thought as I wandered through a near empty park. _If she were alive._

"The voice!" a man's words rang through my ears and I whipped around...

There was the same sandy blonde haired, olive green eyed man I had met before. He was sitting on a bench and he flashed me a straight, white-toothed smile.

"I heard you in the opera, you're wonderful!" he said. I forced a smile and a fake

"Thank you signore." I said with a smile and he motioned for me to sit next to him. I didn't know the man but he seemed friendly enough. Within seconds we were deeply into an opera based conversation.

"La Rosa though," he said, "I'm performing in it." I tried to remember when I had seen him audition but I couldn't remember, as the entire time I had been daydreaming, "with you." I snapped back to the present and I pulled a smile, nodding.

"I'll enjoy performing it." I stated and shifted in my seat, trying not to stick to the seat in the cold.

"So will I." John replied, "La Rosa though," he repeated, pulling the thick script from his bag. "The script was poorly written... a few parts are too cliche."

I had looked at him coldly, "My father wrote it." I said and struggled to hold back a glare. He shrugged.  
"I won't lie to you because he's your father." He said truthfully, "I personally don't like it." I smiled at his honest streak.

- - - - - - - ONE YEAR LATER - - - - - - -  
John and I walked through the opera gardens, holding hands as we had done ever so often, the late moonlight shining onto the dew drops, making them shine like crystals on the roses. I sighed at its beauty as a smile graced my rose red lips. John Walker looked at me and smiled.

We came to the end of the trail, into a circled area, surrounded by lilies and roses, violets and carnations and any other flower you could think of, the scent nearly intoxicating.

We came to our favorite bench, talking about everything as we sat down.

"What about our future?" John suddenly asked me and I frowned.

"What about it?" I asked, confused.

"I mean you and me Christina." I hesitated.

"John you're a very dear fri-"

"Wait! Before you say anything, I want you to ask you something." He stood from the bench and knelt in front of me. I looked at him with an unreadable face, trying to hide my mixed emotions. Did I love him? I felt horribly disappointed at the lack of feeling in his touch but...

"Will you leave the name Christina Ricci behind and marry me? Will you become Christina Walker?" He asked and held out a large diamond ring. _What else do I have?… I guess this is as good as life gets._ I thought and smiled at him as he slipped the ring onto my left ring finger and kiss me on the lips.

"Because that's what a ship is luv." Jack was saying and as I was pulled back into the present I realized that I had never loved John Walker. I had never even known what love felt like. I leaned further into Jack's arms that were supporting me as if from all the troubles of the world and listened, "It's not just a keel, a hole, a deck and sails... no that's what a ship needs. But what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom."

"I've always longed for freedom, Jack." I said truthfully. "Don't ever take it for granted that you have it." Jack looked down at me and I knew he was frowning in confusion as I slipped off the engagement ring from my finger.

"Nothing but yourself is keeping you from being free luv." I was holding the ring out over the water... I wanted to drop it... "All you have to do is let go..." and with that he took my hand and loosened my grip on the ring... I felt no remorse as I watched it fall. I turned back to the pirate captain and smiled as his lips hit mine one more time.


	14. Chapter 14

I stood, Jack's shirt hanging to my thighs and my side no longer hurting. I lifted the shirt and saw nothing but a raw patch of healed skin there, the only remains of the bloody mess I was. Out the small draped window in Jack's cabin I noticed that the sun was setting, leaving soft pinks and autumn colors painted across the sky. I walked over to Jack's wash basin which, by the way, looked as if it hadnt been used in years, and splashed my face with the cool water. I looked at myself in the mirror and shook my head at the mess of hair on my head, trying to flatten it down with my hands.

"Luv?" a voice reached my ears and I turned quickly to see Jack at the doorway, holding the green dress that I had bought in Tortuga and my bristle hair brush, running his eyes up and down my exposed legs. I walked over to him and snatched my dress from his arm and the brush from his hand.

"What is this for?" I asked. Jack chuckled.

"It's a dress, luv. You wear it... though I have to say it looks fabulous off of you as well." I rolled my eyes and pushed him out the door, slamming it behind him. _He's funny..._ a fleeting thought in my mind as I pulled on the green dress and my riding boots, and brushed my hair down with difficulty, ending up in giving me a sore head. Then, setting water down onto my hair to keep it in place, I applied some of Jack's kohl (which I stole from the desk) and walked out the door.

Men's cheers greeted me as I walked out onto the deck and I laughed aloud in surprise as I noticed that the deck was set up fit for a party, candles scattered about. Glenn walked up to me, grinning.

"What's all this?" I asked.

"Your recovery party." He said simply and I laughed, stepping past him and up to Jack, who was leaning on the mast, a bottle of rum in one hand. He grinned at me and I smiled.

"Ye like it?" Jack asked and I looked around. It certainly wasnt as lavish as many of the parties I had, with expensive gowns and hors d'oeuvres on trays... but that's what made it special.

"I love it!" I said and gave him a quick, semi awkward hug. We had not made much affectionate gestures since the morning at the bow... Jack wrapped his arm around my waist and I looked at him.

His lips came down on mine, none too briefly, dragging it for as long as he possibly could. I melted in his kiss and when he pulled away a smile was left on my lips.

"I got you a present." Jack said and I backed away.

"That wasn't it?" I asked teasingly, breathless.

"Yeah." Jack replied and as he smiled and reached one hand behind him, pulling out a beautiful black violin and a black bow. I gaped at it before taking it out of Jack's pressing hands.

"It's for you luv." He said and I looked at him.

"I can't accept this, Jack." I told him and tried to give it back to him but he held up his hands.

"Play something Christina!" I turned around and saw Joe smiling at me, urging me to share. Jack grinned at me and nodded encouragingly. I set the violin on my neck and shoulder and shyly set the bow on the strings before drawing it across the strings quickly, starting up a loud lively song, laughing when Gibbs and Sam began dancing and everyone else rocked from side to side to the music.

Joe and Glenn both nodded to each other and began flipping across the deck to the music as if they were in a circus, moving in perfect sync to each other. I nearly dropped my violin when I saw Glenn "swallow" a sword and Joe make a candle's small fire turn into a flame fir for a dragon by blowing on it. All this happening still in tune to the music. The rest of the crew watched in amazement as did I and when the song finally ended the deck of the Black Pearl erupted into applause, I clapped along with the rest of them, amazed at what I had just seen. I immediately started another song, this time my voice joining it occasionally, making the "Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life For Me" song fit to the music. The pirates nodded to the music as they engaged in a game of poker, laughing and drinking as they listened to me and some of them danced with me.

I twirled around while my fingers flew across the strings, Jack laughing and occasionally joining me. His arm wrapped around my waist as the deck spun around me.

Finally, after hours had gone by I put the violin down and ran to Jack laughing.  
"I can't anymore!" I said between fits of laughter, "my fingers hurt." Jack grinned and took another swig of rum as I set my violin down next to him.

I stood by the group of men swapping stories, fascinated at every one... curiosity got the best of me.

"Joe, Glenn?" I asked and they looked at me, "Where did you learn to perform like that?" the brothers looked at each other.

"We used to perform in a carnival." Joe said, "Very a big hit in our day."

"We did everything!" Glenn continued, "From trapeze to fire blowing." I grinned.

"Really? A carnival?" I asked. "How amazing!" Ana Maria smiled at the two brothers.

"They really were," she said, "quite amazing." Her eyes lingered on Joe's face as their eyes locked. I smiled at her but was interrupted by a hand in mine as Jack pulled me back to the mast, twirling me around a few times before I stood still, laughing still until my stomach was sore.

"I've never enjoyed life so much!" I said and Jack smiled.

"The joy of being a pirate luv." And we stood there talking as one by one the pirates disappeared into their cabin, drunk and laughing until only Jack and I were left on the deck. Jack didnt seem drunk but I knew he was as he swaggered a lirrle as he grabbed four rum bottles and beckoned for me to follow him. I did.

He led me to a net that led up to a point in the mast theat I knew was called the crews nest. I looked up and swallowed.

"We're going up there?" I asked nervously and Jack chuckled.

"You said you climbed trees." He pointed out and I looked at him evenly.

"Yes but this is one big tree." I said and he laughed.

"I'll go after you luv," Jack said, "that way if you fall I'll catch you." I glowered at him.

"I won't fall." I said and grabbed the tope, uneasy a bit at the fact that it was swaying but determined nonetheless.

I moved like a cat, my foot only slipping a couple of times only to end in a gasp and a chuckle from jack and with annoyed horror I realized that he could probably see right up my dress. I rolled my eyes and clambered into the crows nest, nearly falling over but gaining my composure quickly, gulping at how high it was...

The sight beyond the deck, though, was the most gorgeous I'd ever seen. The sky reflected on the glassy water perfectly, giving me the impression that I was flowating endlessly through the air. It took my breath away. I turned to Jack, who had made the climb and smiled.

"It's beautiful Jack." I whispered as if if I spoke too loud it would disturb the scene in front of me.

"It is luv, it is." He slurred and held out one of the four rum bottles he had carried up. I shook my head.

"No thank you." I politely refused but he held it out again.

"Go on luv have a sip."

"No, Jack. I couldnt."

"C'mon luv." He pressed, "Just a sip, if you dont like it I'll take it back, savvy?" I shrugged and took it from him.

"One sip." I said and yanked the cork off the top with my hand, differing from Jack and his teeth. Jack watched me as I suspiciously put the top of the tum bottle to my nose, sniffing the intoxicating enough smell, wrinkling my nose. Jack's eyebrows raised as I reluctantly took a sip, the amber colored alcohol burning my throat. I coughed.

"Well?"

"It's not all that bad." I smiled and raised the bottle to my lips again . . .

Three bottles of rum later I was spilling my heart and soul out to the Captain of the Black Pearl.

"After my mother died my father raised me himself." I said, my words slurring together, "He tried to make me be a proper lady but that's not what my mother wanted so..." Jack nodded and scooted closer to me, as we were sitting in the crows nest, his arm around my shoulder. I leaned into his arms and now that I look back upon the moment I knew that I wouldnt have if I wasnt drunk. My pride would have been unswallowable... but not after three bottles of rum. A tear rolled down my cheek.

"Truthfully I dont know if I want to go back to Port Royal Jack." I said, "I dont really want to marry John Walker anymore." Jack looked at me.

"Why not luv?"

"Because," Jack's face was in front of me, his hands on my sides, "I don't love him..." his face was closing in, "...I love you."

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
"I love you ." Jack's eyes widened and just as he was about to take her lips, Christina passed out. Her ace peacefully leaning back onto the side of the crows nest. He sighed and picked her up, clambering drunkenly down the net and into his cabin, where once again he lied her her down on his bed and covered her with his blankets, watching her sleep for a few moments. "Because I dont love him. I love you." her words rang through him as he laid down.

"I love you too Christy." He could not believe he said it... but it was true.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -


	15. Chapter 15

"Oh... my head..." I opened my eyes, my head pounding everytime blood pumped to my brain. I groaned and rolled to the side...

Suddenly my eyes shot open and I sat up a little too quickly, my eyes going blind and my head nearly splitting in pain. I sat there, dizzy, waiting for it to subside as the room zoomed in and out of focus... once again this was not my bed.

When my eyesight returned I looked to my left to see that I hadnt been alone in-I looked around and sighed-Jacks bed.

"Oh no..." I groaned and put my head on my hands and tried to remember last night. What had happened? I remembered spilling my heart and soul out to him... a foolish move... and ... oh my head hurt ... I remembered his hands, soft and gentle on my sides on my sides and his face had been getting closer and closer... and I told him I loved him and then...

I could remember no more. Fear pierced my heart and I lifted my covers to see that my dress was on... but the sentence lacked the word "still"...was my dress still on?  
I groaned again and pulled the warm blankets off me, shivering in the slight chill that came from the open window.

I swung my legs, my feet hitting the hard ground lightly as I dizzily stood up.  
I pulled on my boots, too tired to lace them and ran my hand through my tangled hair. Sighing heavily, I began to walk to the door, my hand on my forehead.

The sun blinded me, sending another wave of pain through my brain, as I broke into the sunlight. Gibbs looked at me, before smiling and hurrying away. I stumbled to the helm, earning curious smirks all the way and tapped the Captain on the shoulder, a dreadlock brushing over my hand. Jack turned and I could see that he was holding back a laugh.

"You look... terrible luv..." he said, one hand on the wheel, the other hanging on his side.

"What did you do to me?" I whined and leaned my head on his shoulder. I could feel his shoulders shake as he chuckled. I locked my arms around his middle, like a whining child. He put one around my shoulder.

"I didn't get you drunk luv." Jack reminded me and I groaned.

"Why do I have such a headache?" I asked quietly, taking in his scent, shivering at his touch. My heart quickened.

"It's called a hangover Christy." Jack said softly and he chuckled again, "Why don't you go back to sleep? I'll let you off of your duties today." I grinned.

"But I'm comfortable here." I said truthfully, "My head is almost numb in this position." This time a laugh came from his throat and he lifted my face up to his eyes. I frowned... and his lips were on mine. I closed my eyes and gave into his kiss, not caring that the entire crew was probably watching; the pain was gone and I never wanted this to end.

When he pulled away I smiled, the taste of his lips still on mine. I looked into his eyes.

"Jack?" I said timidly. He raised his eyebrows. "I meant it... what I said last night." I waited for an answer. I didn't get one so I decided to ask another.

"Jack?" I asked again and he turned to me.

"Yes luv?" he asked; he was patient.

"Last night I-" I stopped "I-did we-you know..." Jack laughed again.

"Sadly, no luv," He confessed, "no matter how lovely it would have been." I smiled, relieved and rested my aching head back onto his shoulder.

"Are you going to answer my other statement, Jack?" I asked as we entered his cabin and he rested me on the bed. I curled a bit. Jack was looking at me, as if in deep thought.

"Yes..." Jack said after a long pause, "I do believe that, all things considered... I do love you..." I smiled and kissed him deeply. He responded eagerly.

"Good." I said and closed my eyes. "If I sleep will the headache go away?" I asked and Jack chuckled.

"Yeah, luv." He said, and I felt myself being lifted and quickly set into a soft bed. As I drifted off, I heard him leave the room. Encased in cushions and blankets, I fell into sleep.

_I stood in the middle of the deck on the Black Pearl, crew members bustling around me and Jack at the wheel. I smiled and walked up to him, his lips, sensual, sincere taking mine. I smiled against his lips._

Jack and I stood at the side of an island, the dark sky starless, and his hand moist in mine. I looked around, confused...

Suddenly, a scream shattered the eerie silence... a man's scream. My eyes wide, I let go of Jack's hand and ran into the woods on the island before me, calling out my father's name... it had to be my father... it sounded just like my father... I could hear Jack behind me, calling me back but I couldnt pay attention to him... I needed to get to my father.

"Papa!" I yelled, the sand sinking beneath my feet.

I came to the middle of the island and looked around, my father's voice louder than ever. He should be here! I thought frantically... He should be here!

"Papa?" I cried...

"Christina!"

"Papa?!" I yelled, confused, spinning on my heel, "Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?!" Another scream... Suddenly, my breath grew short and something trickled from my mouth. Lifting my fingers to my lips I saw blood; I dropped to my knees in pain, my hands on my stomach, blood gushing from my mouth... nobody was going to help me... Jack was gone... and my father was gone... 

And suddenly I was awake, sweat beading down my face though I was cold. I knew that if I had really screamed nobody would have come, not even Jack... used to it as they were...

I don't know how long I lied there but I remember my whole body jumping when the door was opened. I looked up curiously and saw that it was Jack.

"Christina?" he said gently. I knew from his eyes that he had heard me. I sat up.

"Yes Jack?" I asked quietly and tiredly.

"We're approaching 'The Seagull'"


	16. Chapter 16

My eyes were dark and menacing as I stood next to Jack at the helm. My father's dagger was in my boot and the rest of my weapons on my pant and shirted body. My hair was down and blew in the wind with every dip the ship made like a black cape. We raced through the water, gaining on the ship, white sails and a brown body, THE SEAGULL painted in red along the side.

_They can't be that scary,_ I thought, _Just look at what they named their ship._ Jack chuckled and I realized I had spoken aloud.

As we pulled up next to the ship which carried my father I stiffened. Jack touched my shoulder lightly and I shook him off, rushing to the side of the ship as we became level. The other ship was stopping, its anchor being thrown over the side and Jack signaled Sam to do so as well. I stood on the rail of the Black Pearl, a rope in my hand, my knuckles whit as I clutched it. The obvious Captain stepped to the side of his ship, tall but not husky, with dark brown hair and... I squinted closer... night black eyes. He met my gaze curiously, his hand on his sword almost casually.

"Ahoy!" he shouted and Jack and the rest of the crew joined me on the side. Jack looked at me before replying with a greeting of his own.

"What's your business?" called the other Captain cautiously I glared.

"We've come for a man you've held captive!" I shouted, fear quivering my voice, "Signore Ricci!" Jack rested his hand on my leg, trying to calm me. The other Captain laughed.

"Old Ricci?" he said, "No madam, I do not believe we can do that." He smiled cruelly and motioned with his hand. "Besides, in his condition who would want him now?" Looking over to the entrance to the brig I gasped, my stomach doing a flip. Being brought on the deck was my father, white as the sails above him, frail and bleeding.  
"You see," he continued as my father's eyes rested on me and his eyes widened, his eyebrows still drooped in exhaustion and malnutrition, "We need Mr. Ricci. With him well be rich." I struggled to keep myself contained, my fingers itching to jump onto that ship and claw his eyes out.

"How about we negotiate?" Jack called. I looked at him. "I propose a trade. You give us the man..." Jack stopped.

"And what will you give us?"

"Well.. hadn't thought it through that far..." Jack said.

"Me." I exclaimed shakily. "You can have me." My father's eyes widened and he frantically shook his head.

"No, Christina!" he cried hoarsely.

"Shut up!" the other Captain cried and one of the men holding my father punched him in the stomach. I choked.

"What would I do with you?" the pirate asked.

"The man you hold captive is my father." I replied, "You can still get to the treasure with me." The Captain was overjoyed.

"Well, this changes everything!" the captain exclaimed somewhat excitedly, his hand leaving the sword hilt. I stood emotionless, trying desperately not to meet my father's pained eyes. "Yes," he continued, "not only do we get out treasure... but we can have a little fun as well." Jack's hand tightened on my ankle. I looked down, but looked back up, fire in my eyes.

"So be it then." I said through clenched teeth and grabbed the rope to my left, looking once more over the crew that had done so much to help me get my father back. I smiled at them.

"Thank you." I said and they smiled and nodded as one.

"Aawk, goodbye Christina." Mr. Cotton's parrot said and Mr. Cotton smiled as well. Gibbs patted my leg and I reached down to hug him.

"Thank you..." I whispered again. Suddenly Jack was at my side on the railing, one hand on the rope behind me, the other on my waist.

"I'll find you." He promised in my ear. I shook my head.

"No, Jack," I said, "I'll be dead before you get my father back to Port Royal. Don't come. You don't have to save me anymore. And my money is in the chest in my cabin. My payment for your services... there should be enough." Jack looked into my eyes, frowning before pulling me into a kiss. I gave into it yet again, before hearing a gunshot go off.

"Come on!" the other Captain yelled, "or our bargain is forfeit!" Jack kissed my lips gently and softly one last time before I grabbed the rope and swung onto the other ship, landing clumsily. My father was looking from me to Jack Sparrow wistfully, a look of resignation on his face.

The Captain reached forward before I could blink and grabbed my arm, jerking me to him with more violence than needed. I could feel his fingers forming bruises on my arm and hissed in pain. He chuckled.

"Put Ricci in the brig and weigh anchor!" he cried and the crew immediately jumped into action. With horror I snarled and turned to the Captain.

"You lied!" I growled. He laughed.

"I'm a pirate." He said. Snarling again, I screamed "NO!" trying to rip myself from the Captain's grasp. From the corner of my eye I could see Jack ordering the crew around and grabbing a rope, preparing to board the ship. Cannons went off and the entire ship rocked from side to side, causing the ship to tip drastically at one point.

"LET GO OF ME!" I screamed and tried to jump free again, only resulting in bending my shoulder further back with a crack. Gasping, I fell to the ground, my shoulder in agony. The dark haired pirate Captain laughed evilly, even with the commotion all around us. Jack's crew had boarded the ship and I could see the Captain of the Black Pearl heading for the man with my father. The Captain of the Seagull fought with a man I recognized as Joe, skillfully twisting and turning until I turned away.  
"You can't beat me." The Captain said as I struggled to stand; I needed to help Jack, "I'm Captain Richards!"

"If ever anybody was obsessed with himself." Joe retorted but I could see the sweat beginning to form on his forehead. I turned back to Jack and saw him disable and kill the man holding my father.

"Papa!" I yelled over the commotion and my father turned to look at me, his eyes lighting up with joy. The joy immediately turned to worry as I felt my bad arm being grabbed. I cried out in gritted teethed pain as I was beginning to be dragged back. My father reached forward to grab the man but was knocked away as I kept being dragged. Gritting my teeth to keep from screaming, I pulled my father's pistol out with my left hand, aiming clumsily but quickly at the man's head and pulling the trigger. His hand let go of me as he fell to the floor, blood trickling from his forehead.

"That's for James and Annabelle." I snarled and turned.

Surprise and joy made my heart jump as I turned to see my father standing by me.

"Christina, bella." He said choking on his words and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me until I thought I would scream of pain in my shoulder, "You came for me."

"Of course I did Papa." I replied as he let go of me. The battles raging around us did not matter and we stood there, father and daughter.

Suddenly, I heard a sharp intake of breath and spun around just as Richards drew his sword out of Joe's stomach. With fury I pulled the black dagger out of my boot and lunged at the other Captain.

"You bastard!" I nearly shouted, lunging at him... he was remarkably close. I stabbed...

It all went from bad to worse fast after that.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Richards had pulled my father in front of him like a shield just as I stabbed. All the cells in my body screamed to stop but the momentum was too much for them. Warm blood ran over my hands as I fell back, my mind suddenly numb.

I watched my father stare into nothingness with pain, wishing, praying that this was just some sick trick... that my father was alright... but it was not so.

"You coward!" I couldnt shout and my accusation came out a bleak outburst. Richards laughed.

"Christina..." he said in a scolding manner, wagging his finger at me as a parent would a naughty child. I didn't care about how he knew my name. His voice turned harsh, "Let me finish this for you." My father's eyes met mine for only a brief second as I stood there, numbly shaking my head, before the dagger, the dagger that I sword to save him with, was driven into my father's heart. With a gurgle from my Papa's throat, he fell to the ground.

"Papa!" I cried and fall to the ground beside him, sobbing into his wet chest, not caring that I was getting blood on my hands and face. "No, no Papa! I'm so sorry!" I heard two booted feet approach the front of me and I looked up, my blood and tear stained face contorted in rage and agony. Richards stood smiling at me but his grin disappeared as he looked around the deck, all the remains of his crew scattered about. I followed his gaze to Jack Sparrow, standing behind me, his arm outstretched, a pistol in his hand as it was pointed at Richards. I looked back down at my father.

"Surrender Richards." Jack said evenly, "It's over." The Captain of the Seagull grinned widely and I felt cold steel on my forehead. With terror I realized that it was the Captain's pistol.

"One wrong move and she dies." His cold voice that I felt I knew all too well said. "Put down the gun Sparrow." I closed my eyes but felt something being pulled from my belt. I dared not look down.

Suddenly, a **BANG** rang out and I flinched, expecting the worse to come... for death to take me... but nothing happened.

I slowly opened my eyes just as Richards fell to the ground, the grotesque look of surprise on his face. I turned... and the gun fell from my father's hand.

My wet, salty tears mingled with the constant flow of blood that pumped out my father's chest as I lay there. Jack and the others helped Joe back onto the Black Pearl. He gave me a weak smile as I looked at him worriedly.

"I'll be fine." He mouthed and swung across with Glenn. I turned my head with tear filled eyes back to my father.

"I'm sorry Papa." I whimpered into his chest, "I wasn't quick enough. I promised Mama that I would save you... and I failed. I'm sorry." I began to sob again.

"Christina..." a faint, weak voice reached my ears, "Christina, bella, mi amore."

"Father?" I sat up with a jolt, my father's voice reaching my ears. Such a surge of joy and happiness flooded my heart as I looked upon his face. "Papa!" I smiled. His hand shook as it reached up to touch my face. Suddenly, the ship gave a mighty lurch. I clung to my father as Jack swiftly knelt down beside me. My father looked up at him.

"Take care of my daughter... she loves you very much." He whispered. I wrinkled my eyebrows. Jack nodded and put his arm on my shoulder, kissing the top of my head gently. I flinched away from Jack and huddled over my father.

What do you mean?" I demanded, new tears forming in my eyes. You're not going to die... I'm going to save you!"

"You did, Christina. I'd rather die here, than watch that scum get my father's treasure." I shook my head numbly, my lips forming the word "no" though no sound came out. My father drew a racking breath... his last. "Behind the painting of your mother... under her ring box is a let-" his chest constricted and he let out his breath, with a racking cough that brought blood out of his mouth. The ship lurched again and I realized that with horror that the ship was sinking. Water had already begun to seep through the boards.

"Christian, we have to go luv." Jack said and stood up. I stayed rooted to the spot... too numb to move.

"What about my father?" I asked, suddenly frantic as Jack pulled me to my feet. Jack sighed.

"We have to leave him here." The Captain said gently. My eyes widened.

"No!" I screamed frantically, trying desperately to get back to my father's side. "He's not dead yet! He's not dead!" I felt myself being dragged back, "We can't leave him here!" Jack continued to drag me back, his strength overpowering mine.

"The ship is sinking Christina!" Jack exclaimed into my ear as he noise from the sinking Seagull increased. I still struggled.

"Then I'll sink with it!" I replied and tried to get away again. Jack whirled me around.

"He's dead Christy!" he exclaimed in my ear, "And we will be too if we dont get out of here!" Jack continued to pull me back. Water sloshed around our feet as we reached the railing. Jack turned me around to him and held me close as I fought to be free.  
Suddenly, my feet left the ground and Jack and I felt ourselves falling. The icy water hit me and I gasped just before we went under water.

We surfaced again and I sucked in my breath, coughing slightly, Jack's arms still around me. My salty tears combined with the seawater and I reached up to grab the rope that had been thrown down.

Together, Jack and I were pulled onto the deck of the ship. Breaking free of Jack's arms I rushed to the side of the ship, hoping, in my frantic madness, to leap back to my father.

"No..." I stopped short as the mast of the Seagull disappeared into the water... a red cloud followed it. I stood there, numb, as I watched my father leave me.

Strong arms encircled me and for the first time in my life I leaned on someone, let their soothing words calm my shaking sobs, sooth my troubled soul. I dropped to my knees and Jack with me

"Shh, luv," he whispered, "Shh, I'm sorry." I shook my head shortly, making my headache increase. Standing up, I stumbled into my cabin, realizing that I hadnt been inside for weeks. Crashing onto my old bed, so uncomfortably compared to Jack's, and closed my eyes.

_"Behind the portrait of your mother... under her ring box is a let-"_


	17. Chapter 17

My eyes stared at the reflection of a stranger in the mirror. This girl, I could tell, was in her early twenties but looked like she was fifty. Dark circles lined her eyes and her skin was white as paper. Her full body had turned to a thin skeleton, and her hair lay matted and greasy around her discolored face. The stranger was me... after a week of refusing all food but water and sitting in nearly a single spot for the last week. Countless times Jack had come inside, trying to talk "some sense into me." But after a while I refused to talk to anyone and ended in latching my door shut. As I sat there, blankly staring at the mirror, my ears heard a pair of boots at my door. "Christy?" It was Jack, "Christy? CHRISTINA!" I ignored his gritted teethed yelling, hardly hearing, as he furiously pounded on the door. "OPEN THIS DOOR! THIS IS MY SHIP AND I SAY OPEN THIS DOOR!" Finally I heard a furious sigh and a pistol was cocked. Without even flinching I heard a deafening bang and the latch flew off the wall, hitting my stranger in the mirror, the reflection even more corrupted than it had been before. A crack was made on impact and I glowered at it as Jack came through the door. He took one look at me and closed his eyes, letting his breath out. "What are you doing to yourself?" Jack asked for the millionth time. I didnt answer. "Christy..." he said and knelt in front of me. He began to talk to me about various things like he had every time he came in... "Joe died last night from the wound... don't blame yourself, darling. He was strong for a while." He paused, "He wanted me to tell you that he was glad that he met you... and that I was lucky to have you. I don't feel very lucky right now. I wish you would wake up from this, luv. I know you can hear me and I know you understand. There's nothing you can do about the tragedies in the world. Joe will be given to the sea tomorrow..." I looked at the wall... the news of Joe's death had pierced me... but it only made my grief worse. "Please, luv. You haven't eaten in days," he set the tray of food down on the bed beside me. "Jones only knows when you last slept... you're killing yourself." Taking a spoonful of something I didn't see, Jack tried to put it into my unmoving mouth... "Or is that the point?" I looked at him only for a moment before turning away from the food and him. Finally sighing, Jack put the spoon down. "Please don't do this to me. Dont die on me." He put one hand on my neck and turned my face to him. I tried not to look into his eyes but looked at his chin instead, hidden by the beaded beard. Suddenly, the chin began moving closer to me... and his lips touched mine...

That was the wrong thing to do... A wave of fury washed over me and I backed away, letting out a hoarse, wounded cry. Jack pulled away, confused and tried to embrace me... to comfort the pain. I backed further away... I know that Jack didn't understand but all I could see was the pirate in him... and it was pirates that had ruined my life... pirates that had killed my mother and father. "Pirate," I whispered. Jack stood, nodding gently and left the room. A million thoughts ran through my head as I sat there, watching as the cracked stranger stared blankly toward me. A vision flashed before my eyes. On one side of the cracked mirror stood me, fully clothed in pirate's attire. Turning the wheel of the Black Pearl, letting the wind play with my black hair under a tri corner hat. A smile radiated my face as Jack came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and laying his lips onto the back of my neck. I turned away from that and looked at the other side. I was off stage, a corset binding my waist and twenty layers of red velvet beautiful clothing coming from my waist. My hair was done up in curls and a small hat tilted to the side. A man stood with his back to me talking to another man behind him. The vision of me looked straight into my eyes. Then the man turned and I kissed him... it was John Walker. I tore my eyes away from the mirror and back again... they were gone... replaced by the before shallow eyed, white faced me... a memory of myself, not four months ago flashed in my mind as I stood.

_"I swear to you Mother" I said, "that on pain of death I will find Father and bring him back safe." I stopped and pulled out a dagger from the safe, the handle was made of pure black ivory, a gold thread spiraling down. Determination coursed through my body along with feelings of hate and confusion. I looked back at the portrait, "And Ill kill the man who took my family with this!" On pain of death..._

I stood before the mirror now, sadness reflecting in my stranger's eyes... deep dark sadness. A wave of fury swept over me and I, in sync with my stranger, lifted my fist. In one swift motion of rage, fury, and confusion I slammed it into the mirror, shattering it instantly. I felt glass shards dig into my fist and I fell to the floor among the glass. "Let me finish it for you." I said mockingly and picked up a piece of the mirror, about the size of my index finger. For the first time in a week I cried, tears flowing down my face... bitter, sickening and felt the glass cut into my skin... I was giving in.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
SMASH! Jack whirred around and stared at Christina's door before rushing over to it. The door hit the wall as he flung it open with a bang! He sucked in his breath. Christina was on the floor, her eyes open wide, blood running from her fist, various parts of her body, but most of all from her wrists, which had been heavily slit with a large piece of mirror beside her. Tears silently fell down her cheeks. Quickly tearing strips from her blankets, Jack tied her wrists heavily with them, blood seeping through too quickly. He lifted her slowly off the glass and hurried to the door and out onto the deck. Christina's eyes closed in the light and she whimpered slightly. All the crewmembers stopped and stared at the fact that Christina was finally out of her cabin. Gibbs frowned caringly and followed Jack into his cabin at the sight of Christina's blood.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV- - - - - - -

"Christina, you stupid, stupid girl." Jack cursed through clenched teeth and put me on his bed once again. I flinched as he pulled each piece of glass out of my body. He looked at my fist, kissing it before pulling the glass out of it. The pain was overwhelming and I tried not to cry.

I turned to look at him. "Why won't you let me die?" I asked quietly, my voice hoarse from no spoken words in the last week. Gibbs left the room quickly, not wanting to be involved with anything. Jack kissed my fist again after pulling all the glass out and wrapped it before putting it down. "Why?"

The cheerful faced Captain of the Black Pearl's face suddenly froze. I rolled over onto my back, looking up at him. My shirt exposed my stomach slightly and Jack put both hands on my cheeks. "Don't you ever do that again." He said huskily. "Do you understand me?!" then his lips were on mine... my eyes widened at the change. His kiss was eager, demanding, rough and I returned it. "Do you understand?" Jack asked again between kisses. I nodded, my eyes closed. Jack smiled in the kiss... "Good." He pinned my hands above my head. My wrists ached but I didnt care... my body's longing was much more powerful. In a fury of tears and urgency, my clothing was off, and his hands were all over me... and so it began...

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

I laid in Jacks arms, his arms tight around me as my breath came short. I thought about the last few hours slowly, playing and replaying the feelings of pleasure and wonderful pain in my mind. We had made love twice. Once with fierce urgency, the other taking it slower with gentle strokes and kisses.

I was pressed against him, his breath moving with the same quickness as mine, his arms tight around me, pulling me closer. I rested my head on his chest and closed eyes. "I can hear your heart..." I whispered and Jack's chest shook with a chuckle.

"Yes, luv." He said and put his lips to the top of my head, kissing me gently.

Smiling, I turned my face up and our lips met. He was soft, gentle, so different than he had been only moments before. "You tire me out." Jack finally said, leaning his head back. I smiled as my eyelids drooped, a few tears leaking out again. Jack noticed and kissed me lightly on the top of the head again. "Go to sleep luv. It'll be better in the morning." He said... and I did, content knowing why he couldn't let me die... still not sure if I had made the right choice.


	18. Chapter 18

The salt of the sea tasted tangy on my lips as I stood at the helm of the Black Pearl, blinking as my hair whipped in my face. My hands firmly held the wheel as I looked out into the horizon.

_What now?_ I thought, _Where do I go after we find the treasure? Port Royal? Stay with Jack?_ And yet still the memory of my father, two weeks before lingered in my mind. _"Behind the portrait of your mother, in the safe, beneath her ring box is a let-"_ I let my breath out, looking down, trying to fight back tears. I had made much progress since that faithful evening when I had almost killed myself. I looked down at my still bandaged wrists, stained nearly brown with blood. I didn't shut myself away anymore... and I certainly hadn't shattered any mirrors, although members of the crew still watched me with wary eyes.

Once again I forced myself to blink back tears and look back up. Only I could see the island... well, at least only a Ricci.

A pair of arms pulled me from my thoughts as they wrapped around my waist and a chin rested on my shoulder.

"See anything luv?" Jack's voice said into my ear. I shook my head.

"No, Jack Sparrow," I said, "Nothing." I sighed, "How do we even know that we'll ever find the island?" I asked quietly, more to myself than the Captain, "The only clue we have is that of an old pirate... without the guts enough even to go after the treasure himself."

"It's there Christy." Jack said, taking the wheel with his hands, his arms still around me. I turned around so that my back was to the wheel, facing Jack. Smiling, Jack put his lips to mine, his hand moving up and down my back, sending shivers up my spine. "It's there."

Smiling, I turned back around and held the wheel, letting Jack rest his head on my shoulder, inhale the scent of my hair (what was so special about it, I could not tell), letting him put his hands where he wanted as I looked for the island that my grandfather had cursed.

"Captain," a voice called from the deck, it was Sam, "May I inquire as to where we're going?" Sam stepped away from his station and came up to the helm. Jack stepped away from me to explain the situation. When he was done Sam smiled.

"Ah, we're going to Isla Draconia." He said lightly but solemnly. I frowned.

"You know of the island?" Sam laughed.

"Of course I do." He said, "My old Captain went in search of this 'invisible island'... he was never seen again." I looked at Jack, worry reflecting in my eyes. Jack smiled.

"Many ships have been lost to that passage before luv." He said... "I couldnt see how this was helping, "But you can see it. We'll be fine." Shrugging I took the wheel again.

The hours passed slowly with no sign of the island and as the sunset I was beginning to feel restless. We stopped the ship, set shifts, ate, and went to bed and all the while I paced up and down on the helm, stopping only to tell my crewmates that I would take the first watch.

All was quiet as I sat on the bow of the ship, still my favorite place after all this time, looking out into the dark, glassy water, reflecting the full moon and stars that littered the sky. Far away I could hear the crewmember's snores and the wake of the sea gently splashing onto the side of the Black Pearl.

I made my decision quickly. Pulling off my boots and bandana, I unbuttoned my shirt so that I was only in my brassiere and pants and dropped, trying to hold back a scream before I landed in the water with a splash!

The cold water closed in around my body when I hit it and I immediately shivered, waiting for my body to get used to the sea. I held still for a few moments, hoping that nobody on the ship heard me jump... how awkward that would be to be found like this in the water... apparently nobody heard me.

I lounged in the water, my hair separated and wet, clung to my body. I could have stayed like that forever.

Suddenly, as I came up from swimming about under water I felt something snake around my wrist. A hand closed over my mouth as I was about to scream and I turned around, ready to strike whoever had me... but it was unnecessary.

Jack Sparrow smiled at me, his shirt clinging to his body and his dreadlocks dripping.

"I thought you were supposed to be on watch, luv." He said.

"I am on watch," I replied, "I'm just making it a bit more entertaining." Jack ran his hands over my bare skin.

"This is entertaining." He said. I smiled and wriggled away from him playfully, leaving him to grasp at nothing but water. He gave me a little growl as he reached for me again, this time dunking me under the water.

I came up laughing and sputtering, but determined not to give in the Jack's playing. I skillfully swam away from him as he chased me before an idea came to mind. Quickly ducking underwater swam below Jack, only to come up behind him.

Laughing I leapt onto Jack Sparrow's back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, holding them tight. Jack began to be unable to stay above the water.

"Do you yield?" I asked quietly, a smile on my lips. Jack was only able to nod before he sank back down. Smiling widely, I let go and waded in the water feet from him, silently laughing as he caught his breath.

A few more minutes of playing and swimming around had me caught in his arms, facing and kissing the Captain. Smiling, I turned around so that my back was to his chest, leaning my head back onto his neck, no doubt our favorite position.

Suddenly, there was a high pitched clicking squeaky noise and I gasped, trying to back deeper into Jack's test. He laughed.

"It's only a dolphin, luv." He said through shaking laughs. I relaxed only a bit but never let go of Jack.

The creature before me was that of a grey color, with a long nose and a gentle expression that looked kind. It was inching its way closer.

"A dolphin." I whispered. Jack nodded... "Can I touch it?" I asked nervously.

"Go ahead." Jack replied, letting me go. He swam behind me as I treaded water for a few moments before reaching out my hand. I smiled as the dolphin tilted its head into my hand. The skin was rubbery and cold.

I jumped as the dolphin pulled its head out from under mine and disappeared into the water. Laughing, I let Jack wrap his arms around my middle and lay his lips to my neck, moving down to my shoulder. I put my arms on his and turned my head, meeting his kiss with a smile on my face.

"I think " I said between kisses, "That this is the first time I've been happy since my father died." Jack kissed me again, his hand moving up to brush my cheek gently.

"Certainly the first time you've laughed. Dont worry, " he said, "After we've found the treasure it'll be over... and we can go on together." I looked down, my hair spreading in the water that we were in.

"Captain?" a voice called from up ahead. Jack and I looked up. It was Glenn. He looked cheerful but underneath his mask I could see the sadness for the loss of his brother... and it was my fault... When the second mate (Gibbs being the first) looked down he "blushed" and turned his eyes. Looking down I realized that the fact that I only had a brassiere on was clearly visible.

"Begging you pardon, Captain, Miss Ricci. I heard voices." He said.

"It's alright, Glenn." I replied, "It's my fault. Sorry we woke you."

"I wasn't asleep, Christina." He replied to my reply softly. I looked down.

"Will you throw the shirt that's up there down, Glenn?" Jack asked, smiling at his quite uncomfortable love.

After my shirt was thrown down and I pulled it on Jack and I swam in the dark to the side of the Black Pearl and grabbed the rope.

"I don't really want to get out." I said, turning back. Jack grinned and pushed me, laughing slightly.

"Go, you're going to get sick. The water's cold." Sticking out my tongue at him, I climbed the rope and onto the Black Pearl and climbed over the side, the air biting my wet skin and making my teeth chatter, no matter how hard I tried not to show it. Jack, however, wasnt as dim witted as people would think and draped his coat, which had been hanging on the side rail, around my shoulders, planting a kiss on the top of my head. I wriggled from his grasp and walked over to the front of the ship, sitting on it as I had done before I jumped down. Jack's brown coat fell to my knees, the sleeves coming to my fingers. I wrapped it around my body clad in wet clothes, shivering only for a moment as I waited for the coat to warm my body.

Something else fell over my shoulders and I looked to see a blanket, thick and warm around me. Jack Sparrow climbed over the edge, sitting down beside me. I smiled, wrapping my arms around Jack's waist, resting my head on his shoulder, and pulling the blanket around him as well. He smiled down at me, putting his arm around my shoulder.

I smiled contently, looking out on the sea, the moon reflecting off of the water, wrinkling in the ripples. Jack and I looked out into the water, and I was only vaguely aware of the fact that Jack's head was resting on mine, and that his eyes were closed... and his breathing heavy. I closed my own eyes... and fell asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

The sun shining in my eyes woke me up and I wrinkled my brow.

Jack and I were curled up on the deck on the bow. I inside of his curled body like a crab in a shell when I woke up. Not daring to move in case I woke him up, just lying there, looking up into his face... and wondering how we got onto the deck. _Oh well..._ I thought, _If we fell at least it wasn't into the water._ I yawned, turning my head up into the sky, admiring the colours above me, the sky streaked with bright pinks, oranges, and purples like a painting. I looked up at the purple clouds, the bottoms tinted with a burnt orange color.

But I wasn't really thinking about the clouds or the pretty colours in the sky... I was thinking about my future.

I felt like I was in the middle of a war, holding a bomb to give to one side. On my right was John P. Walker, an opera singer, my fiancée, and my theatre career, my father's house, the memories, and of course Will and Elizabeth. On my left was Captain Jack Sparrow, the Black Pearl, the sea, treasure, adventure, his love, and freedom. Both sides had an equal amount of disadvantages as well. If I went back to Port Royal I would lose Jack, and freedom, actual freedom! But if I stayed with Jack I would lose the career that I had worked so hard for all my life. The bombs in my hands were going to explode soon and it wouldnt matter which one I chose because I would be dead. And whichever side I gave the bombs to would destroy all hopes of ever going back. I sighed.

Fingers running through my hair pulled me out of my thoughts like a riptide, pulling me out to sea. I looked up to see Jack looking down at me, with a smile on his face as he stared at me. I smiled tiredly and sat up...

"I didn't want to wake you." I said, "Otherwise I would have been up long ago." Jack smiled as we stood, looking about. The deck was empty. I frowned.

"How do we get on the deck?" I asked slowly. Jack smiled.

"I moved us." He said, "You were having a nightmare." I wrinkled my brow... I had a nightmare? I shrugged, this was not the first time I had had a nightmare and not remembered.

My hair was still damp as I ran my hand through it, pulling out all the tangles in my way. It was hopeless though, my hair was thick and long, the curls tight spirals. I was halfway through before I gave up. Jack's coat still hung on me, though off to one shoulder. Straightening it I reached down and picked up the blanket that laid on the ground.

Reaching over to Jack, who was looking out into the water quietly, I kissed him on the cheek. He turned and smiled at me.

"I'm going to put this away." I said, folding the blanket over my arm. He seemed to have been startled from thoughts and nodded. I looked at him before walking away. What had put him in such a quiet, thoughtful mood?

I threw the blanket over Jack's bed lazily, my skin somewhat itchy from the salt water the night before and pulled off his coat, hanging it on a chair.  
Straightening my shirt I walked back out of Jack's cabin and into my own, pulling on another shirt (a white one), a pair of brown pants, and my black boots. I let my hair fall in its curly messiness loosely around my shoulders.

Stepping out into the sun made me blink feverishly as I walked through the crew, who had just woken up and were readying the ship to continue our search for Isla Draconia.

His shoulders were stiff under my hands as I ran them over his back. I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his shoulder. Jack put his hands on mine and looked at me. I frowned to see that he looked sad.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, kissing the back of his neck gently. He sighed, touching the spot where I had kissed him, as if storing a memory.

"You're going home after we get the emerald aren't you?" he asked. I looked down, my eyes closed.

. . . I had to make my decision. . .

I turned and passed the bomb to the pirate, a sad look on my face, in my mind.

"I am home, Jack Sparrow." I said, "Maybe one day I'll go back and find what my father wanted me to... but for now I'm happy here." Jack smiled as he turned around in my arms, putting his hands on my cheeks and kissing me deeply. The kiss from him that still left me weak at the knees. I smiled.

"Alright, alright," I said smiling, "Go get dressed, Captain," I added, pushing him playfully but with force back toward his cabin, laughing, "We have much work to do this day."

Of course, once again midday came and there was no sign of the Isla Draconia or any other bit of land for that matter. I stood at the helm still, my mother's wedding ring still on my right ring finger, shining in the sunlight bright colours as my hands gripped the wheel of the Black Pearl firmly.

_He just can't keep his hands off me can he?_ I thought amusedly as I felt Jack's arms around my waist.

"Is this your favorite place Jack? I seem to find us like this often." Jack smiled against my neck.

"I'd much rather have you turned around." He said, spinning me around to face him. I smiled.

"Well, now you have it. What-" his lips were on mine. _His lips too..._ I thought, smiling in his kiss.

When he let go of me I turned back around, looking back out into the horizon, searching for any sign of the lost island.

An hour passing left me to gape at the sea ahead of me... I had found my grandfather's island.

It was clear to see why many ships had been lost to Isla Draconia for my grandfather chose it well.

Storm clouds hung over Isla Draconia, rain and lighting falling into the seas around it. Already I could feel the wind around us being drawn to the island. The landmarks were what frightened me the most, however as I gripped the wheel of the ship tightly. Rocks, their sharp tips sticking up from the water dangerously, the water churning around them, surrounded the island, making it one of the key reasons, I'm sure, that so many ships were lost to this passage. The island wasn't much better as I wrinkled my face hopelessly. Two of the three angles that I could see Isla Draconia at were covered in cliffs. Just in case the lucky sailors get past the rocks. I thought bitterly and closed my eyes.

"That's odd." Jack's voice in my ear, "All the storm clouds are gathering in that one spot... see?" he pointed and I sighed, so it was Isla Draconia... Jack couldn't see it. He looked at my face and sighed. "That's it isn't it?" he asked, "That's the island." I nodded slowly.

"And by God it is a scary sight." Jack frowned and I let out my breath at his confused face. I pointed and described to Captain Sparrow each landmark, all the while Jack's face becoming more and more sinisterly troubled. When I was finished Jack put one hand to his head, donned with his hat. A plan was beginning to form in my head.

"We'll board a longboat in one hour." I said, "And you and I will row through the rocks only because the Pearl will never fit through the rocks." Jack looked at me, surprised that I was taking charge despite my wide eyed face.

"Alright, luv." He said, "but why don't we go tomorrow?" I looked at him and bowed my head.

"Because I dont trust this place. Not in the least bit."

The water sloshed over the side of the longboat as I clung to the side, my bangs hanging around my face as those who didn't make it into my hair that had been pulled back with a ribbon.

"Christina!" I looked up to see Ana-Maria, looking over the railing with Glenn, "Don't go getting yourself killed." I smiled and blinked as the overpowering wind blew my hair in my face.

We had anchored the Black Pearl just outside of the edge of the storm clouds, just where the water was beginning to churn around the rocks that they could not see. Jack looked a bit shaken... but he was fine. I looked over at him, biting my bottom lip.

"Is it worth it Christy?" Jack asked, using my nickname, "The rocks and the cliffs don't bother me... it's just the fact that I can't see them." I looked at him, fire in my eyes.

"And you don't think that I'm capable of pointing and telling you where they are?" I snapped. Jack looked startled but grabbed the oars nonetheless.

"No, luv." He said, "That's not what I think." Turning away from him I scrutinized the rocks before us, trying to find the best way through the rocks. Before long I had found one.

"Alright, Jack." I said, turning to him and giving him a smile. "I see a way through." Jack nodded, grinning at me in encouragement, and we rowed off.

I will not describe to you the next twenty minutes of my life, for the fear and yet desperate courage and skill was too great and terrible to describe. Even now I remember little of it but the screams of "Left! NOW ROW LEFT!" and "There's a rock just there! Lean to the right when I tell you!" and the joy when I saw the sand of the island. Yet no words can describe to you the terror when the front of out boar cracked at the collision of a rock or the desperation that stung me as I held onto the side of the boat.

But, through all these feelings, we made it.

My breathing came heavy as I jumped from the boat. I began to trudge through the water.

"Well," I said, coming to the sand, a small beach before trees into an unknown wild, "We made it to the island." I turned around. "Jack?"

The Captain of the Black Pearl was still trying to make his way through the sand that he could not see, his face grimly set.

"Oh!" I cried, rushing over and taking Jack by the hand, leading him through the sand like a blind man. I had to admit, with all the times that I had depended on Jack, it almost felt good to be helping him for a change.

"This is ridiculous, luv." Jack said. I turned to him, smiling.

"Love is ridiculous," I replied randomly and brought my lips to his, "but I trust it." His mouth was gentle, caring, and almost timid?

"Alright, luv." Jack said, smiling back at me, "Let's find this treasure so we can get out of here." I nodded.

Hours could have gone by yet it was only moments to us as we trudged through the wilderness of the island, my hand on Jack's and his out in front of him, his face nervous, his eyes wary. I smiled at him, whispering when a rock or such got in his way. The island was strangely quiet, no chirp of birds, no wind through the trees, nor the splash of waves on the cliffs and rocks. We walked through the trees and grass, hopping streams, climbing rocks.

An hour went by and I stopped, breathing heavily and labored, leaning against a tree. Jack sat on the ground beside me, putting his arms on his knees wearily. There was still no sound on the island but the slight hearing of Jack and me breathing.  
Suddenly, through the quiet I heard a singing... a low tone... a woman's voice... I took a sharp intake of breath... was it my mother?

"Jack?" I whispered, "Can you hear it? It's my mother... singing... come this way." I leapt up and grabbed Jack's hand, pulling him to his feet.

We ran through the trees, me no longer guiding Jack gently but dragging him behind me, leaving him to fend for himself without really noticing...

I could hear it...  
"Past the point of no return  
No backward glances  
Our games of make believe are at an end

The final threshold  
What warm unspoken secrets will we learn?  
Beyond the point of no return."

I gasped.

We had run to a lake, bigger than any I had ever seen, and yet black as night. I reached down and touched my hand to it, Jack as well, following my lead. The black water ran over his finger and suddenly his eyes lit up as he looked around fervently. He looked at me.

"I can see!" He said, "I can see the island!" I smiled at him but could not keep my eyes off the figure behind him. Jack turned and I let out a pleading look from my eyes.

Behind Jack stood the wispy form of my mother, her brown hair falling around her face well kempt yet dirty. She wore the red dress that she had been wearing the night she was killed though now she wore a white cloak over it, blowing in wind that was not there. She had her mouth open in song. I waited until she was finished. This had been our favorite song.

"You have brought me  
To that moment when words run dry  
To that moment when speech disappears into silence  
Silence  
I have come here  
Hardly knowing the reason why  
In my mind I've already imagined  
Your arms wrapped around me  
Defenseless and silent  
Now I am here with you  
No second thoughts  
I've decided  
Decided..."

A smile lit up my mother's face and Jack looked confused. My mother took something out of her dress and held it out. I looked down to see that it was a dagger. Frowning, I shook my head. My mother shook hers as well and lifted her voice again... it sounded just like I remembered... though now only an echo.

"Past the point of no return..." I joined in, walking toward her. She took my hand gently.

"No going back now  
Our loving play has now at last begun  
Past all thought of right or wrong..." I felt the dagger, cold on my hand as she cut it open. I looked down at it as Jack stepped forward protectively, ready to strike if enough happened.

"One final question  
How long are we to wait before we've won  
When will the blood begin to pour?  
The sleeping blood thirst into bloom." She kneeled me down and put my hand in the water, the blood traveling through the water like a virus... but it was making it clear. Jack looked down at the lake with a speechless expression. I still could not believe that this was happening. What was my mother doing here?

"When will the flames at last consume us?" My mother's voice was beginning to fade and so was her figure.

"Past the point of no return." A sad smile was on her face and she put her hand on her heart to tell me that she loved me. I smiled at her, a single tear ran down my face.

"The final threshold..." she was gone but I continued singing.

"The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn...  
We're passed the point of no... return..." Jack's hand on my shoulder pulled me from my trance and I turned to him.

"What was that about luv?" Jack asked. I shook my head...

"I dont know..." I replied, another tear falling... "Perhaps my mother was sent to help us." I turned back to the lake before us, now clear... and a passageway bridge going across it to the center where... a small mound of land was. I looked at Jack for a moment and sighed, wrapping my bleeding hand in a cloth. I was through now. I wanted off that island.

"Come on." I said and took Jack's hand, though I knew he could see by himself and grasping it tightly.

Jack seemed to be leading me more than I him as we crossed the bridge and as we walked I began to feel less and less sure of myself.

Suddenly, just as we passed the halfway mark I felt pain in my stomach and looked down at my shirt to see red stains developing on my white shirt. Jack seemed to be hunched over as well, grasping his leg. I looked at my arms and legs, covered in bleeding cuts now... I looked down at a particularly large one on my arm and could remember when I had cut it on the corner of a fence when I was young... with horror I realized that every scrape and cut from my whole life was opening and bleeding. Jack was now on his knees. Being a pirate I'm sure he had many more. Holding my arm I looked down at him.

"Jack," I said, "We're almost there! I can make it the rest of the way on my own. You stay here! When I get the emerald the curse should lift! Please just stay here!" Jack looked up at me.

"No, Christy." He said, standing up, "We have to go back. This place is dangerous. He shook one of his hands and blood came off of it.

"Yes, Jack." I shot back, "We lost Joe to this wild goose hunt and by God I will not leave this island without that emerald. I will not have his death be in vain!" I could feel blood filling my mouth from what I could not remember and spit it out to the side, running with all the strength I had across the bridge. I could feel the wood beneath my boots beginning to crack but paid it no heed. We needed to get out of here.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
Jack looked out over the bridge, clinging to the side as his leg erupted into pain again and watched as the woman he loved ran across the bridge, limping due to the pain in her stomach where she had been shot... Suddenly...  
"Christina, NO!" Jack shouted as he watched her fall to the ground. He saw something leap out of the water, all the light in the world was gone as he watched the figure lift up its arm and bring a spear down... right into Christina's heart! Jack gasped and ran forward, pulling out his sword and killing the figure, watching as it fell back down into the water.

"No, Christina. Please, no! Don't leave me here alone! Don't you dare die!" Jack leaned his head down and cried into the woman's chest, his teardrops a crimson color onto her skin, staining it... Her eyes were glazed as she looked up at the Captain, her hand on his neck. They leaned toward each other and brought their lips together.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

I ran across the bridge, my side killing me to no end. My breath came out in gasps as I ran, my leg dragging behind me. I could see it now... the stone table, high and shaped likes a goblet. I ran to it, falling slightly and grabbing onto the top of it.  
What I saw on the top of the table entranced me and for a moment I had to only stare at it.

It was cut like the diamond on my mother's wedding ring, sitting in a slight hole on the table, a stand for it I supposed. Reaching over I picked it up, lighter than I expected it was and tucked it into my belt, the small pouch hanging off of it. I turned to smile at Jack, but a cry rang out.

"Ah!" I heard Jack scream and I turned to see a figure jump out of the water, its hair black and falling in string like clumps on its head. It was a human no doubt... but, due to the fact that its skin was that of a dead fish and its body hunched... I figured it was dead... I wouldnt put it past my grandfather, though little I knew about him, to have the dead bodies of the sailors that died here attack any guests. Damn! I cursed and rushed to pull out my pistol... but I was too late. The figure brought up its arms and crashed a spear down through Jack's back, causing the end of it to come from the front of him. I rushed forward, shooting the figure and watching it crash to the lake, falling to my knees in front of the Captain.

"Jack? Jack? No! Jack, please dont leave me here! I can't do this alone! Jack! I fell back as his body fell forward, my back crashing down onto the bridge. Why did this have to be happening to me? Why? Blood came from his stomach and fell onto me dripping where my wounds still were open. His body hung over mine, as I could tell he was still alive. I brought my lips up to his and they touched...

Suddenly Jack was breathing, and I was fine. The cuts on our arms and legs went away and the darkness around us went away to reveal that of a blue sky, spotted with occasional clouds. I looked up at Jack, overjoyed to no longer see the spear in his back. He looked just as overjoyed to see me. He smiled his crooked smile at me and pulled me close.

"Oh, Jack!" I cried, "I thought you were... I thought you were..." Jack's fingers rested on my lips gently.

"Speak of it no more..." He said, "We're done. The curse is lifted. It was all an illusion." We both stood and I laughed in relief, bringing my lips onto his, throwing my arms around him. He laughed.

"Alright," I said, "Let's get out of here." The two of us turned, out clothes bloodstained by the wounds that were no longer there, and ran across the bridge, our feet flying as we ran. Suddenly, the ground began to shake underneath us and Jack and I looked at each other and our eyes widened, running faster, our hands linked.

The next few moments of my life were very brief and fleeting, no matter how extraordinary it was. We came to the beach and leapt into the boat, rowing away from the island through the water that no longer churned for the storm clouds were gone and we both rowed like madmen. We were not but to the end of the rock field when suddenly, the island made a large suction noise and was suddenly gone... a whirlpool replaced in its lack.

"Jack..." I whispered nervously, "Can we go now?" Jack gave a small nod and began rowing fast, ignoring the pull of the sea around us, being pulled into the whirlpool.  
Somehow, we made it to the side of the Black Pearl and climbed up, our breath coming in gasps. I climbed over the side of the ship with Gibbs's help and fell to the ground, my breath coming short and my eyes blurring.

The last thing I knew was a pair of arms around me lifting me before falling into a sleep that not even a banshee could awaken.


	20. Chapter 20

The waves of the wake lapped up onto the side of the Black Pearl were comforting as we sailed through them. Somehow I felt different from my experience on the island. And no, it was not the fact that Jack had seduced me into bed for the second time that morning. I stood at the front of the helm, again, my bandana wrapped around my forehead and the emerald in my pouch still. Countless times the night before I had looked into it and could remember my mother's form. Her cold touch that warmed me on the inside... her voice... exactly how I remembered it...

"Father once spoke of an angel  
I used to dream she'd appear  
Now as I sing I can sense her  
And I know she's here  
Here in the air  
She calls me softly  
Somewhere inside... hiding  
Somehow I know she's always with me  
She the unseen guardian..." I sang quietly. Jack came up from his place at the helm and wrapped his arms around my waist.  
"Angel of music  
Guide and guardian  
Grant to me your glory  
Angel of music  
Hide no longer  
Secret and strange angel..." My voice trailed off and I leaned my head back onto Jack's shoulder, giving him a kiss. I was going to miss singing on stage... I pushed the thought from my mind. This is where I belong... I thought, I must stop doubting it.

"We're about an hour away from Tortuga, luv." Jack finally said. I nodded, staring at the sunset... "Want to go get ready?" I nodded again and turned away from him, walking through the deck until I came to the Captain's quarters, opening the door and walking inside, sitting down on the bed and taking off my shirt, pants, and boots, replacing them with a black dress, one of the dresses I had brought with me when I had first come to the Black Pearl. I pulled on the knee high dress, no layers but a light corset and long sleeves, lace covered and transparent. I pulled on my cloak quickly and did my best to comb out my curly hair. Finally, applying a slight bit of kohl and lipstick I tightened my boots and walked out onto the deck again. I could see the island approaching fast and Jack turned around, smiling at me and putting his arms around my waist.

"It's been a while since you wore that luv." He said. I smiled and put my hand on my stomach.

"I could live without the corset, though." I said lightly. Jack pulled out his knife.  
"I can fix that." I backed away from him, the wind blowing my cloak around me, smiling.  
"No thank you Jack." I said, "I'd rather keep this corset." Jack shrugged and put it back into his pocket. He turned around and grabbed the wheel in a firm grip again. I walked over and put my arms around his waist, resting my head on his back, my eyes closed.

"Are you ever going to leave me Jack?" I asked, looking at my palm in front of me, a long cut, wrapped running down it. A chuckle shook his shoulders.

"Are you really that scared of being alone?" Jack asked. I shook my head.

"No, not me being alone. I've been alone most of my life," I replied, "It's leaving you alone is what I'm worried about. Who knows what you can do when you're by yourself." Jack pinched my arm and I smiled, wriggling my arms out from around his waist and sitting on the front of the helm, hanging my feet down toward the deck. I could feel Jack's eyes on my back, bearing holes into my skin and I turned around, smiling at him.

Suddenly, as my grip was loosened, the ship gave a lurch on a wake.

I felt myself falling and didn't register it until the last moment when I saw the deck come flying up at me. At that moment panic seized my heart and a rush of adrenaline ran through my body. A small scream came out of my lips and the deck was suddenly under my feet. A shock went through my body. I felt my knees buckle and I fell to the side, my hair falling out to the side around my face. I lied there for a few moments, breathing heavy.

"Christina!" I rolled onto my back and looked up at Jack, the bottoms of my feet stinging from the impact, who was looking over the side of the helm. "Are you alright?" I saw Glenn run over to me and stand before me... but he was not frowning.  
It was at that moment that I realized I was laughing, an exhilarated kind of laugh, full of irony and relief. Glenn reached down, holding his head out. I smiled further and grabbed his wrist and his mine in a firm grip. I was pulled up as easy as a feather and set on my feet. I looked up at Jack.

"I'm alright, Jack." I said, giving Glenn a brief hug and rushing up the stairs and onto the helm by the wheel. Jack shook his head at me and pulled me into a one armed hug. I wriggled out of his grasp, nearly jumping up and down with excitement.

"Jack!" I said through laughter. Jack looked at me like I was crazy.

"You enjoyed that?" he asked and pulled me to him again, looking into my eyes. He finally shook his head. "I can't tell. Are you feeling alright?" I smiled and jumped away from him.

"I'm fine!" I said firmly. "I just fell that's all!" Jack shook his head at me.

"Whatever happened to the Christina I used to know?" He asked, "What ever happened to: 'But what if I fall on the net up to the crows nest?'" I smiled.

"No doubt I have been changed." I said and looked up to the crows nest. "I wonder... would it hurt if you jumped off the crows nest into the water..." Jack took my arm.

"No way." He said, "You're not doing that!"

"Could we do it together sometime?" I asked hopefully. The sensible half of my mind was screaming Are you crazy Christina? What the Hell has gotten into you? And still yet the other half of my brain was laughing, The fall was so exhilarating... who wouldn't enjoy it?

"Alright." I mumbled to myself, "Enough nonsense." I looked out into the water and could see Tortuga ever so closely, now able to recognize the lanterns being lit in the late twilight. Ah, good old Tortuga...

Yes, good old Tortuga...

The streets of Tortuga had not changed since I had last seen it, nor had it mannerisms. Jack and I walked through the streets, one of my hands gripping to my pistol, the other to Jack's hand as if it were my life. I could see Jack's smile out of the corner of my eye.

We weaved in and out of the people on the streets of Tortuga. Once I thought I saw one of the crewmembers accompanying a woman into a brothel. I raised my eyebrows thoughtfully, how disgusted I was.

"Jack," I said, "Do you remember what bar we saw that man in?"

"Of course, luv." Jack replied, "I know this island like the back of me hand." I looked at him sardonically.

"I would bet you do." I said. Jack looked at me.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I said passively, "Nothing at all."

The cries of drunken men and laughs of whores could be heard to the ends of the earth as we walked through the streets more, heading for what I supposed was Jack's favorite bar... perhaps I would have some rum myself...

"Remember," Jack said as we walked into the bar, "Keep a sharp eye." I nodded and let go of his hand slightly, somehow feeling safer indoors. Immediately we went over to the bar table and each sat on one of the chairs. Jack asked for two bottles of rum and handed one to me, smiling, but I was not listening to what he was saying about all the times he had had in Tortuga. I was looking around, trying to find that peg legged pirate. Where was he?

I was pulled from my thoughts as a few yells erupted from behind me. Jack and I whirred around to see a woman coming into the door. I surveyed her for a few moments as she was greeted by a few of the pirate men around her.

Her face was the first thing I noticed, slender and in the shape of an oval with high cheekbones, red through her darker skin. I could tell she was white, but spent so much time in the sun that her skin was tanned almost to the color of Anna-Maria's. Her kohl lined eyes were a piercing blue, so different from my soft ocean ones, and larger lips than I did. Long black, waist length hair fell to her... well waist... and curled slightly at the bottom and around her face in waves. It fell almost silky. This woman was very slender but quite curvy, with a large bottom and chest. It looked as if, experienced as I was with this, she were wearing a corset under her tight shirt for the "extra push". She wore a pair of tight black pants, accentuating every curve in her long but muscular legs. On the top of them she wore a belt with a large buckle decorated with blue sapphires. Hanging off of her belt was a sword and a long knife, but also many guns. On her back was a rifle. Up to her knees, laced, she wore black boots with a high heel on the back. She wore a tri corner hat on her head and tipped it to the pirates greeting her.

I stole a glance at Jack, sitting next to me and could see his eyes widening when he saw this woman, his face still and his eyes full of familiarity and a look that I had never seen on him before.

"Eva Shapiro!" One of the woman's greeters exclaimed and ran over to shake her hand with both of his own. She smiled and shook his hands warmly... but she looked tired, alone and sad, as if she just wanted to leave these people to their drinks and get on with her own. Suddenly her eyes snapped up and she looked at me... and then Jack. Her face turned from its fake smile to surprise and as if she was in a trance. Then a smile lit up her face and she pushed her way through her greeters and over to the bar. Jack seemed to snap out of his trance and gave a rather convincing smile.

"Jack Sparrow!" she cried. I could hear the Russian in her voice and looked down at my bottle of rum, taking another swig. "Long have been the years since I looked upon your face!" I looked at Jack and her as they exchanged hand shakes. Eva pulled Jack into a hug at the last moment and Jack obliged, still having not uttered a word. The pirate woman turned to me.

"And who is this?" she asked. Jack looked at me and seemed to remember that I was there.

"Oh, this is Chri-"

"Christina Ricci." I interrupted him. She shook my hand a little hesitantly. Her thin eyebrows contracting but a little. "I stay upon the Black Pearl." Eva looked at me for a moment, as if trying to see past my eyes and into my very soul, chewing on her tongue in a thoughtful manner.

"I see." She said, "Last I heard of a Christina Ricci, she was an opera singer in Port Royal." I smiled.

"That would have been me." I said. "I'm not sorry to say I gave up that life." I turned my head to smile at Jack but he was not looking at me. His eyes had strayed to Eva's chest and lingered there. I saw Eva smile knowingly and fold her arms across her chest.

"You know you always get caught." She said and smiled, sitting down at the bar beside him. I watched her, flaunting her looks as she moved. I couldn't help but be disgusted at the way Jack looked at her... jealous even?

_Okay, Christina,_ I thought to myself, _They're old friends, obviously. Jack is not having crazy sex fantasies right now... Just calm down. Let them talk and let's go find that man... and give him his emerald... and just get out of here! We'll go far away... we'll go to Rome..._

"Jack," I said, putting my hand on his arm gently. He turned to me for a moment, "I'm going to go on and... um... walk around." Jack turned to me.

"Alright, luv." He said and I walked away, one hand in my pouch, the other on my pistol, keeping my eyes wary.

"Don't touch me." I said when a man got up from his chair and reached over to me. I was feeling dangerous, like I would kill the first person that tried to hurt me or touch me in any way. The pirate backed up and sat back down in his chair, his eyes wide.

"Well, missy." A voice suddenly said and I turned, fire in my eyes, at a hand on my shoulder. The peg legged pirate stood before me and I smiled at the familiar face, holding back the urge to give him a hug.

"Hello." I said, taking myself into a calm and composed place that was certainly not my body. He raised his eyebrows at me expectantly and gestured to the table next to us. I smiled and sat myself down.

"You found the island I take it?" He said, raising his eyebrows. I looked at him and nodded slowly. There was a pause, "And you found the emerald." I smiled and took it out of my pouch, setting it down on the table. The pirate's eyes shone, the green of the emerald reflecting off his own grey eyes. I gave a half smile as he reached out for it slowly. I pulled it back to my chest, giving him a look.

"After I give this to you, I want your name." I said evenly. The man looked at me for a moment and held out his hand, nodding. I reached out and put it into his hands. He looked at it for a moment longingly. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Well?" He stood.

"Edmund Ricci." He said and turned, walking away... "Brother of Edward Ricci..." My jaw dropped and I closed my eyes, looking back up at the pirate... my uncle?... but he was gone...

The walk of ten feet back to Jack, still talking to Eva Shapiro, both of them with a bottle of rum in their hands, seemed to be the longest I had ever walked. My thoughts were far away... was he lying... could that man have really been, "Edmund Ricci... brother of Edward Ricci..." My uncle?

"No," Eva was saying, "No, my ship got attacked by the Navy not too far away from Port Royal. They were looking, actually for a young woman named Christina Ricci, whom I suppose is your little companion. But when they found out who I was they just let loose on The Blood Diamond... most of my crew were killed. The others dragged me away from the ship... I wanted to stay... a captain goes down with his...her ship... but my first mate dragged me away. Funny huh? He dragged me away?" I studied her. She was harsh, sturdy, tough, but behind all that I could sense a sense of gentleness that only a woman could have.

"I'm glad he did," Jack said solemnly, "I wouldn't have seen you now if he hadn't." Eva smiled, flashing white teeth. Jack put his hand on the table, his sleeve falling back to reveal white lace on his wrist that I had always thought about... Eva reached down and touched it lightly.

"I remember when I gave you that." She said softly, running her hand over it. Jack smiled and touched the bottle neck on her necklace. I frowned at it.

"You wear this?" he asked her. Eva smiled, "I remember it well."

"As do I," she said, "As I recall you knocked me out with it and left me here." Jack looked down sheepishly.

"Sorry about that." He said. I stood in front of them.

"Jack." I said. Jack looked up at me, seemingly just remembering that I existed. "It's done." I told him nothing of my discovery of the man's name... I doubted I ever would. It was not a crucial piece of information.

"Alright, luv." He said and stood up. I put my hand in his, getting ready for the walk back to the ship filled with cat calls and such as it had been on the way... God I hated that. Eva Shapiro looked down at our hands and smiled, putting her hand on her gun as she stood.

"Eva..." Jack said, "Where are you planning on staying? I mean, well, are you staying here in Tortuga and getting a ship?" I ran my tongue over my lips slowly.

"Actually," Eva said thoughtfully, "I don't think I know where I'm going yet." Jack looked at her for a few moments before smiling. I could tell that he was a tad bit drunk. I picked up a rum bottle from the counter and put it to my lips. . _Never again will I result to alcohol for an escape..._ I thought slyly... In nearly one swig I downed the whole rum bottle. Neither Jack or Eva noticed me.

"Well, luv," Jack said, "How would you like to join my crew?" I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the free feeling of the alcohol rushing down my throat. I grabbed another.

"Alright." Eva said, strapping her rifle tighter to her back, "Sure..." Jack smiled and offered his arm to her. I watched as she graciously took it and the three of us walked out of the bar, the rum bottle still dangling from my fingers... the invisible Christina...


	21. Chapter 21

I stood in the kitchen again, pulling a large, glass bowl from the oven. I tried hard not to let tears get into the spaghetti I was making for the crew, but I failed miserably. Oh well, I thought, It's just a little salt... I was barely aware of the kohl that was running down my face as tears fell. I sniffed.

I suppose, reader, you are wondering what has become of me, why tears fall so frequently down my face, and where Jack is. I suppose, also, that I must tell you.  
It had begun the night when we left Tortuga with Eva...

"Would you like my cabin?" I asked Eva Shapiro politely, handing Jack the bag of gunpowder that we had "purchased" in Tortuga for his pistol. He took it from my hand and walked into the Captain's cabin. Eva watched him walk away quietly but turned her attention back to me.

"No, thank you, Miss Ricci." She said, "I will manage with the crew." I nodded to her, a bit of ice in my composure and turned to follow Jack into our cabin. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it.

"She seems nice." I said to Jack randomly, as he rummaged in his trunk for rum. He came out with two bottles, handing one to me. I accepted it.

"Do you think so, luv?" he asked. I could tell that he was near wasted. "Yeah, we used to sail together... had some good times... _real_ good times." I did not understand why he was telling me this. I took another gulp of the alcohol, feeling it take effect on my senses. I walked over to Jack and put my hands on his chest.

"How good?" I found myself asking. I knew I was drunk... but I didn't care. Jack smiled and backed up, taking me with him until he was lying on his bed, he dragged me with him.

"Really good..." he whispered and put his lips to mine, flipping me onto my back. I smiled and kissed him again...

I knew Eva was listening...

The next morning I awoke, my head pounding again, to the sun in my eyes. I felt sick... woozy... disoriented as I stood up and pulled on my clothes.

Stumbling out of the cabin I walked over to the helm where Jack was... with Eva. I frowned at the way she looked at him, the way she put her hand on his shoulder, the way he looked at her. Walking up, I put my hand on Jack's shoulder on his other side and leaned my head on it again.

"I have a headache..." I said. Next thing I knew I was being pushed to the side off his shoulder like a fly.

"We've been through this," Jack said shortly, "It's a hangover. You know what one feels like." I nodded, stung, and turned to him, my voice cold.

"What duty will you have me do?" I asked him. He looked over at me, Eva still on his shoulder. She looked at me with curiosity, even a sense of pity maybe? I did not think so actually.

"Well," Jack said, "Why don't you go back to your original duty in the kitchen? Glenn is in there now. We need him out here." I nodded and bowed my head slightly, walking away at a brisk pace toward the galley, keeping my burning face on the ground. I knew that most of the crew's eyes were on me. And Gibbs was looking from me to Jack to Eva curiously... but he knew not to argue with the Captain.

The door flew open and hit the wall when I walked in, running my hand through my hair. I looked up at Glenn, who was standing at the counter, wiping it down. I walked over and took the rag from his hand silently.

"The Captain says for me to relieve you in here." I said. Glenn smiled.

"Good!" he said with enthusiasm, "We need you back in here! The food has definitely lost its quality." I looked up at him with the slightest hint of a smile on my face. Glenn's brow wrinkled.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine..." I replied distractedly, "You had better get out there. Don't want the Captain to get impatient." Glenn nodded, still not reassured, and walked toward the door. I looked up suddenly.

"Glenn!" he turned around and looked at me, his blue eyes filled with concern. I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder. "I haven't gotten the chance to tell you how sorry I am... actually I've been too ashamed to tell you... I truly am, sorry, though about Joe... It was my fault..." Glenn reached down and put his arms around me.

"You know," he said, "When you first came onto this ship... I thought you were going to be nothing but a proper little burden, who was going to do nothing but complain that her pillows were not fluffed." I laughed, "But you proved me wrong... you're one of the most amazing lasses I've ever met. Joe told me, the night before he died, that he was glad you gave him such a good time. He got in touch with his inner spark he said... funny isn't it?" I smiled at him. "He was glad to have died helping you." I sniffed and looked down, nodding against his chest and hugging him tighter.

"Thank you, Glenn." Was all I said and turned back around, grabbing the cloth and continuing the wipe down of the table. Out of the window I could see Jack and Eva standing at the wheel, talking and laughing. I saw Glenn halt when he saw them and turn back to the window. I ducked my head quickly but I knew he had seen the anguish in my eyes.

Jealousy is never something that I had ever felt, not even when I saw the little girls in Port Royal accompanying their mothers to tea. I never felt jealous of anyone... ever... yet at the moment, watching her put her hands all over Jack... the only man I had ever loved, I couldn't help but feel the dreaded jealousy.

The door opening took me away from the kneading of dough that I was in the middle of and I looked up to see Eva Shapiro walk in. The first place I looked to was the helm to see Jack standing there with his compass open. His brow wrinkled, he closed it and shook it, opening it again. I turned my attention back to the woman pirate in my midst.

"Just came in for a bite to eat," Eva said, grabbing an apple. She took a bite, a bit of juice running down her mouth. She lifted the sleeve of her skin tight shirt and wiped her mouth with it. I saw for a fleeting moment the "P" brand of a pirate, lifted on her skin. "'Don't mind do you?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. I moved my mother's wedding ring away from the flour that I was pouring over the dough, moving my hands back to it. Eva reached down and picked it up. My hands stopped moving immediately and I watched her with wary eyes.

"This is nice." She said, putting it back onto the counter, "Are you married... or engaged?" I thought of John Walker's ring at the bottom of the ocean.

"No," I replied, "No, I'm not married or engaged." Eva nodded, "That was my mother's."

"I remember when I was like you," Eva said, "I suppose you grew up with a wealthy family?"

"Yes," I replied, "Until my father died at least. My mother was killed by pirates when I was very young... and my father passed away just recently." Eva looked down at the green apple in her hand bitterly.

"My parents are dead as well," she said, "Killed right in front of me when I was a teenager. My father died first... and then my mother... well after she was raped." I stopped kneading for a moment and looked at her. "Her last wish was for me not to because... well I don't know why... but her last wish was for me not to become what I am... but she also wanted me to be happy." I nodded, "So, which do I choose?"

"The latter obviously." I said. Eva shrugged. I turned my attention back to my hands, kneading the dough past the point of being done. _They're just friends!_ I told myself as I watched Eva go back out and stand by Jack Sparrow, _Only friends!_

"Thank you for the meal, Christina." Gibbs said to me as he finished the last bit of his meat pie. Jack sat at the far end of the table, picking at his food with his wooden spoon.

"You're welcome." I said distractedly and finished off the last bits of my food just as the others were done. Eva ate with a clean manner, but faster than anyone else. She was gone before anyone else as well. I watched her leave over the rim of my mug, watched her give Jack a look and him give her a smirk. She walked out, swinging her hips provocatively, earning a cough from Sam as he choked on his food and a scoff and roll of eyes from Ana-Maria.

Jack, about ten minutes after Eva left suddenly got up and left the table, leaving the galley as I washed off my and Eva's plate. I watched him walk out and turn to the left; no doubt he was going to his cabin. I sighed and took Sam's plate, indicating with my finger that he had some on his chin. He smiled sheepishly and wiped it off before thanking me and leaving the room.

Soon enough only Glenn, Ana-Maria, and I were left. I saw Glenn put his hand on Ana-Maria's arm.

"Are ye going to bed?" he asked quietly. Ana-Maria looked at me for a moment and I ducked my head down to keep her from seeing that I had been eavesdropping. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and wiped my hands off on my brown pants. Ana-Maria shook her head.

"No," she said, "I'm gonna stay with Christina for a bit." Glenn looked around for a moment before leaning down and kissing Ana-Maria on the cheek, his lips trailing down to her neck. She smiled and watched as Glenn left, nodding his head to me and leaving the galley, shutting the door behind him carefully.

Ana-Maria and I were left in an awkward silence for a few moments before the woman walked over and took a mug down from the cupboard, pouring rum into it generously. She took another down and handed it to me. I took it from her hand and set it down on the counter. Ana-Maria sat down on the counter and took a sip from her mug.

"Alright, Christina," Ana-Maria said. "I know there's something wrong with you. What is it?" I looked up at her for a moment.

"I don't want to give you the burden of my troubles Ana-Maria." I said, "I need no pity."

"I'm not planning on giving you pity." Ana-Maria responded, "I just want to know what's wrong with you. Ever since we got back from Tortuga with Shapiro you've been miserable. I ain't blind."

I remained silent, "Look," Ana-Maria continued, "I know we haven't been the best of friends and we haven't talked at all but... nonetheless if I had a problem you would be there for me right?" I nodded. "Now I'm being here for you. And, if it makes you feel any better, I do need some advice afterward. How about it?"

There was a pause.

"It's Jack..." I finally said, "And that Eva Shapiro woman. She won't get off of him... and ever since she showed up... it's like I've been invisible. He doesn't even talk to me." Ana-Maria nodded.

"I see..." she said, "Have you tried to talk to Jack about it?" I shook my head.

"Even if I could get a word in I wouldn't..." I relied miserably, "He's happy when he's around her. The way he used to act around me... I don't want to ruin that." Ana-Maria frowned.

"Christina." She said sternly, "We're going to talk to Jack. Right now, you and me. I'll go with you and we'll tell him. How about it?" I looked down and finished my rum, the taste no longer burning, but enjoyable.

"Alright..." I said regretfully, "But first, what advice do you need?"

"No doubt, observant as you are, you have noticed that perhaps Glenn and I have something between us." I smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I noticed." She smiled.

"Well, Glenn wants us to be wed... now, he wants us to have a proper wedding... including me in a white dress..." She made a face, "But I want us to be wed here on the Black Pearl in our pirate clothes and I want Captain Sparrow to wed us." A shaking began in my chest and before I knew it I was hunched over, laughing.

"That is what you needed my advice for?" I cried, laughing, "The colors and clothes of your wedding?!" Ana-Maria smiled.

"It's very important." She said, scoffing. I sat back up and let myself breathe for a few moments, coughing slightly.

"Alright," I said, turning to her as if we were two young girls, going on a clothes shopping spree. I smiled, "You promise Glenn that you will have a priest wed you, and he can wear whatever he wants... but the wedding will be on the Black Pearl and Jack will... help in some way."

"And the white dress?" she asked.

"Promise him that you will wear a white skirt over your clothes... I've got the most perfect outfit for you! You'll look lovely, yet still as pirate as you want. What do you say?"

"Nothing with frills?"

"No. No frills." Ana-Maria smiled and jumped down from the counter, me with her.

"Excellent!" she cried. "Alright then, let's go talk to Jack," I found I had a lump in my throat, "and then we'll look at this 'perfect outfit' you're talking about." I smiled as best I could and put the empty rum bottle down on the counter. Ana-Maria took my hand and pulled me to the door, opening it.

I shivered, with nothing to do with the chill in the air, as we walked across the deck to Jack's and my cabin, a confident look on Ana-Maria's face, an uncertain one on mine.

Ana-Maria reached up to knock on the door... but froze. Her eyes wide she turned and looked at my horrified face.

From behind that door came the most ungodly sounds I had ever heard in my life, the creaking of a bed, the breathing of two, and the shouts of "yes!" and passionate screams of a woman... Eva Shapiro.


	22. Chapter 22

"Jack, I want to go home."

I was standing before Jack Sparrow, the morning light coming through the window of his cabin that looked out at the water. The light only showed half of his face... shameless. I stood before him, tearstains on my face, never having bothered to wash them off, a furious look on my face.

"What?" Jack turned to me, "Why, luv?"

"You know why! And do not call me luv!" I exclaimed, walking over to Jack's closet and pulling my dresses off the hangers, throwing them into the bag that I had used when we first bought my weapons. I looked into the drawers as well, pulling out my pirate clothes and bandana, throwing them in as well. A bag of gold sat on the bottom of the bag, my payment to the crew if it is to be remembered. "Do not pretend that you do not know what you have done!" I threw another shirt into the bag with such force that I hit my hand on the nightstand. I dropped the bag, cursing and put my finger into my mouth. Jack shook his head and walked over, reaching out to take my finger from my mouth. I slapped his hand away, unable to get a good aim at his face. Jack stepped back a few steps, away from my furious muttering to myself.

"Luv," Jack said quietly.

"Do not call me LUV!" I furiously screamed. Jack's eyes still held the look of fake confusion. "I heard you last night with that Eva Shapiro woman! I heard you in here with her in your-_our_ bed!" Jack's mouth dropped and his eyes widened with sudden realization. I picked up a book off the side table and looked at it, tears stinging in my eyes. Once again I looked up at Jack. "I gave you my love! I gave you my chastity!" I lifted the book over my head and threw it at Jack. He ducked to the side, closely avoiding being knocked out with the heavy book that came flying at him.  
"I gave you everything I had!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face, "And that still wasn't enough! I LOVED YOU!" Jack's face wrinkled with pain and guilt but I didn't care. "I should have known better than to think a pirate could change my mind. Once a pirate, always a pirate, I guess, right Jack?" Tears were falling and my voice broke. I fell to my knees beside Jack's bed, leaning my head on the side where he normally slept. I looked back up at him, my face wet with tears. "I want to go home." I sobbed, "I want you to take me back to Port Royal. Please..." Jack looked down and back up at me.

"Alright, Christina." He said quietly, "I'll take you home... I'll take you back..." I wiped the tears from my cheeks, only to have more pour down my face. "Port Royal is not but fifty leagues away." He said, "We'll be there in a day or so..." I looked up at Jack, his beautiful face... watching as he walked away.

It was a beautiful... a beautiful lie!

I dumped out my clothes onto the bed again, this time taking the time to fold them as I put them into the bag. I paused when I came to the white dress that I had told Ana-Maria about and set it to the side, as well as a pair of black pants and a red, billow sleeved, shirt to go over the dress. I held a red ribbon in my hand and set it to the side with them as well. She would want to wear her own boots.

All eyes were on me as I walked out of Jack's cabin, all except Jack, who was standing at the helm, and Eva, who was still in the crew's cabin sleeping. I walked through the workers, my head down, pausing only when Glenn put his hand on my shoulder to take it off. I walked to the other side of the deck, a long walk as far as I was concerned and to the door of my old cabin. I pushed it open to reveal the inside of my old cabin, the small uncomfortable bed in the corner and the closet standing in the corner. An empty mirror stand stood on the wall, small bits of glass on the ground in rare places around it. It did not matter. I did not want to see myself anyways.

Multiple times my door was knocked on, mostly by Glenn and Ana-Maria, but also by the rest of the crew as well. Jack never came to talk to me, nor did he look at me when I left my cabin to tend to the kitchen. Tonight was going to be my last night, and I wanted to give the crew something special to eat.

I mixed the spaghetti sauce (their favorite that I cooked) with a large, wooden spoon, my hands working though I could not feel it.

Slowly, I poured the sauce over each plate, making sure I gave Jack enough for his fill. I didn't hate him enough to deny him his favorite food that I cooked... actually I was past that point... more sad and numb than anything.

When the crew filed into the galley one hour later there was a quiet, sadness. I looked at all of them, what good friends they had become to me. I could remember when I first came, as Glenn had been talking about, how they looked at me with an air of distaste, how many of them had thought that I was just a little princess and was going to make their lives miserable. I could still hear the music when I had awoken and was able to walk after I had been shot. I would be sorry to leave the Black Pearl... But I couldn't stay here.

As everyone ate there was an awkward silence. Jack sat at the head of the table like he had before for so many weeks, through the good and the bad... I avoided looking at him. Eva Shapiro did not show up at all.

Finally, I slammed my fork down, earning looks from all the crew. I looked around at all of them.

"Will you quit acting like I'm going to die tomorrow?" I demanded, "I don't want to leave miserable! My task is done and now I need to go home. Please make my last night worth the journey." Glenn and Ana-Maria smiled at each other sadly before launching into conversation with a few of the crew members. Jack looked down at his empty plate solemnly before standing up along with the rest of the crew, standing in the corner. I looked at him repeatedly while I was talking and drinking with the crew, wishing that it could only be different.

That night was one of the best, yet one of the saddest of my whole life.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

I sat at the desk, dipping my quill into the ink bottle once more.

_With love, Christina._

My bag was heavily slung over my back, my black dress falling to my ankles, one of the only dresses that I had left. I had actually saved this one for my return home.  
Just before I swung myself into the rowboat I had given each and every crewmember a tear filled hug. Glenn's lasting twice as long as any other one.

"Come on, Christina!" Jack's voice called from down on the water and I said goodbye to the crew one last time, their murmurs of "Take care" and "So long" lost behind me as I climbed over the railing and into the row boat. Jack was sitting there as he insisted. He wanted to see Will and Elizabeth apparently.

I sat in the boat, the water splashing over the side slightly and onto my boots and the hem of my dress slightly. Jack sat across from me, watching me fidget under his gaze.

"I wish you would stay..." Jack said finally as the boat came to stop at the base of the cliff. I looked at him.

"I can't." I replied, "Not after what happened..."

"It was one time! The rum got to me!" Jack said, grabbing my arm as I turned to walk away from him.

"One time, yes." I said, gently taking his hand off of me. "But one time will become two... and two will become three... three will become ten! Until I am so used to it that it happens and I don't even notice." A single tear ran down my face as I looked at him. "I can't live like that. I need to go home and forget this ever happened."

"Will you forget me?" Jack asked. I smiled.

"No one can forget you, Jack Sparrow." I said, "I want you to be happy... and if it is with Eva Shapiro then there is nothing I can do." Jack nodded again. I turned and walked through the sand, my boots leaving heavy footprints in the sand. We would go to Will and Elizabeth's first, and bid each other goodbye then. And finally I would be on the way home... perhaps I had even made it back in time for the Phantom of the Opera production. I smiled at the thought of being on stage again.

Few people on the streets recognized and greeted me. Jack walked through the shadows, keeping out of sight from all that came and approached me.

"We heard the most terrible things!" Madam Horana was saying, "Dear John Walker was worried sick when he heard that you were gone!" I smiled as convincingly as I could.

"I will be sure to visit him, Madam." The graying woman smiled and reached into her purse, pulling out a paper. I looked down at it with my black gloved hands, unrolling it to see an advertisement for the Phantom of the Opera.

**CANCELED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE**

The top of it said, and under a painting of John, Karl, and me, all playing out parts in the play. I looked back up at Madam Horana.

"You had better get over there, dear." She said, "You can go when you go see John. But if you don't they're canceling the show." I shook my head. This was the opera that I had been looking forward to playing in for many years. It was not going to be spoiled! I rolled it back up and tucked it into the ribbon around my dress.

"Thank you," I said and curtseyed, walking away. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jack watching me with a sense of amusement. I refused to look at him.

Finally, I came to the street that Will's blacksmith shoppe sat on. I frowned at the door, which looked like it had been kicked in, splinters hanging and the door off its hinges. Jack and I exchanged the first glances we had since our entry into Port Royal and rushed to the door. Jack took a paper off of the wall as I climbed into it.

"Will!" I cried, "Will! Elizabeth?" There was a rustle and I looked over to the side to see a little boy crawling out from behind a trunk. I recognized him as the young boy who had been in Will's shoppe when I first found my father's room, so long ago it seemed. I could not remember his name.

"You are looking for Master William?" The boy asked. Jack came in behind me, holding a piece of parchment. I took it from him.

_In decree of the Port Royal Navy_

I looked up at Jack and he motioned with his head to keep reading.

_The warrant for William Elizabeth Turner's arrest has led to the corruption of their pardons. The crime is conspiring to aid a man convicted of Piracy and condemned to death. Mr. and Mrs. Turner will be hung on the morning of the 25th of April at dawn as is the punishment._

Signed,  
James Norrington 

I closed my eyes, letting the parchment drop from my hand. I turned to Jack.

"That's tomorrow." I whispered. Jack nodded. I turned to the little boy.

"Alright, son." I said, "Go on home. I want you involved in this not." I took a few gold pieces from my pouch and handed them to him. "Go home, please." I said. The boy's eyes lit up and he took the gold pieces, running off into the streets. I turned back to Jack. "It seems we have one more thing to take care of before we depart, Captain Sparrow." I said. Jack nodded. I walked forward, reaching into my bag around my shoulder and took out the large bag, filled with gold pieces. I pressed them into Jack's hands.

"My payment for your services, Captain." I said. "And one more is required of you. Go back down to the row boat and wait there. In one hour you will see Will and Elizabeth coming. Take them upon the Black Pearl and get them out of here." Jack shook his head.

"No," he said, "I'll go get them from-"

"You are too easily recognized... besides you're convicted of piracy." I kicked the parchment with my booted foot, "I am not. If anyone discovers me the only thing they will feel is happiness for my safe return." Jack scoffed and I took his arm. "I want you to leave Port Royal today and never come back." Jack turned and put his hands on my neck. For a moment I let go of myself and enjoyed his touch. Jack's face was coming toward me. I lifted up my finger and stopped his lips. He reached down and put something into my hand, closing my hand over it. I looked down at the necklace that he put into my hand, a dolphin jumping on the end of it.

_"It's called a dolphin, luv."  
"A dolphin... can I touch it?" _

I smiled sadly and backed away from him.

"One hour." Was all I said and turned, rushing out of the blacksmith shoppe, running out onto the street.

I was at the prison in nearly no time, rushing through the main office where no man stood and down into the jail, running past every cell, filled with men making cat calls to me. I ignored them and continued to run, looking in each cell for my friends.

They were in the last one. Will sat in the corner, Elizabeth in his arms, leaning against the hay there, trying to keep each other warm. Will looked up with upset and angry eyes at me, before they widened in surprise.

"Christina?" he asked in amazement, "Christina Ricci?"

"In the flesh," I replied and leaned down. Elizabeth looked up. Her fine dress was stained and her face was dirty. I reached out and grasped her hand, hugging her through the bars. Will came over and put his hand on my face, as if to see if I were real and not his imagination. I smiled and embraced him next.

"However did you find us?" Elizabeth asked, "We thought you were still out on the ocean..."

"I was," I said shortly, "Until this morning. I decided to come home." Will smiled.

"So you found your father then. Where is he?" I looked down, trying to hold back a tear.

"He's dead." I said and hurriedly explained the past two months or so to William and Elizabeth Turner, really only telling them short sentences for each event. When I came to the most recent, involving Eva, Will's face was darkening.

"How could Jack do that to you?" Elizabeth asked, hugging me tight. "You love him!" I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter now." I said. Outside, the sun was beginning to move west. I looked at it and figured that it was around three o'clock. "We need to get you out of here. Jack is waiting with a rowboat on the bottom of the cliff to take you away." Will looked at the hinges of the cell and pointed.

"Alright, Christina." He said, "Do you see that bench? Lift it and bring it here." I nodded and walked over, lifting the bench with surprising ease and bringing it over. I could see the men in the next cells watching me with a sense of desperation and curiosity. "Now prop the bottom of the legs onto the bars." I did as I was told, propping it up nice and taught. "Now," William said, reaching through the bars and putting his hands on the bench, "On the count of three we're going to push it and let the hinges loose. Ready? Are you sure you can do this?" I looked at Will.

"Two months at sea can do a thing or two to a person." I said and gripped the bench.

"One... two... three!" With surprising simplicity, I pulled down the bench. There was a terrible creaking of metal and a bang as the front of the cell fell back onto the bench. Will and Elizabeth climbed over it.

"Hurry," I said, "Someone will have heard that. It wasn't exactly-" I froze as we turned around to see two officers, standing there with their rifles on us. Will pulled Elizabeth behind him but I refused his protection.

"Don't move any of you!" The officers exclaimed, holding their guns on us. I reached down, seeming to grab my bag but a shot went off, hitting the ground right under my arm... that was all the time I needed. Swiftly, I reached under my skirt and pulled out my father's pistol, hitting each of them square in the chest. The officers fell to the ground and I blew off my gun, tucking it with the parchment into my ribbon on the side of my dress. Will and Elizabeth looked at me for a few moments, absolutely speechless. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Will's hand and dragged them out of the jail, rushing off into the trees, oblivious to the shouts behind us.

On and on we ran, through the small forest until we came to the outskirts of town. I turned to the two people next to me, breathing hard.

"Take care of yourselves." I said, "Please." Elizabeth walked over and took me into her arms.

"You know," she said, "You've changed since you left with Jack..."

"Tell him that I love him for me... and to have a wonderful life with Eva." I said. Elizabeth hugged me tightly again.

"I will," she promised and backed away. Will walked forward and put his arms around my shoulders. I smiled and hugged him back, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Take care of Elizabeth," I said. Will smiled and kissed my forehead.

"You take care of yourself." He said... "We'll see each other again. I promise." I smiled as Will, my best friend, wiped the tear from my cheek and backed away. We stood there, staring at each other before I motioned with my hands.

"Go!" I said. Will and Elizabeth smiled and turned, rushing off into the trees toward the cliffs... for the first time, really, I turned and walked toward the city and realized...

I was alone now... truly alone...

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
Jack Sparrow's arm was around Eva Shapiro's waist as they sailed away from Port Royal. Will and Elizabeth Turner were in Christina's old cabin, getting settled. Jack smiled distractedly as Eva put her lips to his neck, her hand somewhere where Christina would never put hers. Jack smiled again and took out his compass, opening it.

It pointed back... back to Port Royal...

Back to Christina Ricci...  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -


	23. Chapter 23

_My darling Christina,_

If you are indeed reading this, my angel, then I am dead. I wished only, in this letter to leave you with the truth.

Piracy is a crime, Christina, yet a crime unlike others. You accomplish, by committing this crime, that which is hardest to obtain. Thus, the crime becomes the necessity to obtain one thing: freedom.

This was the choice my father was presented with when he obtained a certain jewel, an emerald of amazing value that my mother gave to him when she died. He chose the piracy road, taking me and my brother, Edmund, with him. Needless to say, we had many adventures out on the sea. Your grandfather took us many places, but finally, he took us to an island, Palori some call it, others Isla Draconia. My father put a spell on that island with the help of a woman by the name of Tia Dalma, and we never heard of the treasure again.

Not a year later, our father was taken down by the crew. Edmund lost his leg and died later of blood loss, or so I heard. I, according to my father's wishes escaped and went back to Italy, where I lived out my life until our move to Port Royal.

Now, dear Christina, I write this with the hand of a life well live. You sit at twelve years old. Even at this very moment I see you in the grass, trying as hard as you can to get up the tree... I should go help you.

Whether by old age, illness, or force I have died as you read this, Christina, I want you to know, my daughter, that whatever hardships we have or will endure, I would like you to know that I love you, and you, my daughter, were and are worth it.

With all my love,

Your father, Edward Ricci 

My father's signature smeared and the ink ran down the paper as a single tear fell from my eyes. It was more a tear of resignation than sadness for my father's death.

I had a wonderful memory. Still even now, though not to so much extent as before. I can remember things from yesterday all the way back to the age of four vividly.

No telling how long I stood there, lost in thought before my twelfth year came back to me. It was not the first time I had climbed a tree, yet it was the first time in regards to the tree outside the opera house. I could remember my small feet gripping the bark, my father's hands on my leg, helping me up.

I smiled as I put another piece of wood into the fire, the flames sending shadows dancing on the wall. I looked back down at the parchment in my hand, the corners and sides torn and the color fading from it. My hands shook as I read it again.  
Shaking my head, another tear running down my cheek. I could see my face, illuminated with the fire, in the mirror over the fireplace, I was not looking well.

"Maybe..." I whispered, "I should be rid of the past." I held the letter over the fire, my hands trembling. "Move onto the future..." The fire seemed to welcome the paper in my hand.

And I let it fall.

"Don't you move!" A man's voice yelled from behind me. My hand remained outstretched and my body frozen. I moved to pull my hand back, "DON'T YOU MOVE!"

"Alright," I said, "Alright."

"Well, well, well," I frowned at the voice. "Miss Ricci... Murtaugh, fetch irons." I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders and I was turned around.

Six officers stood in my living room, each holding a rifle pointed at me. The officer that had turned me around now stood with one to me as well. Next to nearest to me, standing with a smirk on his face, was James Norrington, taking a pair of shackles from another officer. A fire flared inside of me.

"Miss Ricci, you are under arrest."

"On what charges?" I demanded furiously, "I have done nothing wrong!"

"Oh, I wouldnt say that..." James Norrington said coldly, pulling a small piece of parchment from his pocket. "Here is your warrant: Christina Ricci, wanted for the murder of Edward Ricci "

"WHAT?!" I nearly screamed, "Murder my father?! How dare you?"

"I'm not finished," Norrington interrupted again, "The murder of Edward Ricci, breaking convicted criminals out of prison (in which your murdered two more officers) and, finally, piracy." The shackles were cold on my wrists. What was I thinking? Did I really think I could get away with what I've done?" "This is your warrant, and you are to be hung at dawn, as Mr. and Mrs. Turner were to be." My eyes widened.

"How dare you accuse me of murdering my own father?!" I screamed, the officer was pulling me from my own house, "I would never!"

"What are you doing now?" I demanded as we entered the prison. The first thing I noticed was that we were not headed to a cell, but to a table by a fireplace. I was pushed into a chair, my left arm pushed on the table.

"No..." I whispered as I looked up to see a metal rod in one of the officer's hands. He was handing it to Norrington, who had two of the officers to hold down my arm. I shook my head. "No, don't..."

"Once a pirate, always a pirate." Norrington said.

There was a sizzle and the smell of burning flesh, the mark of a P on my arm and the sound of my scream filling the air.


	24. Chapter 24

A single seagull sat atop a wooden bar, its white feathers pushed back from the flight through the air. Its eyes, though not so much as an owl, were wise and stern, the small dot of red on his beak that symbolizing THE Blood that was to spilt this day.

The early morning air bit my face and exposed forearms, the shackles around my ankles and wrists doing no favors for me.

I stood tall and erect, my hair pulled back and held up wth a feather that I had found in my cell the night before. The P brand on my arm stung painfully and the tears that still rested on my face made my face stiff.

The sight before me was that of one that I will always remember. A crowd of people stood on the square before me, some setting their children on their shoulders for a better look. My voice seemed not to be functional for otherwise I would have screamed at them. I raised my tied hands and touched the dolphin necklace on my neck again gently. I made a mistake... I thought, and this time no one's going to help me...  
I was barely aware of the readings of the man next to me of my charges, no matter how few they were, one of them completely untrue. How dare they accuse me of murdering my own father? I thought furiously, What would my profit be? The noose was slipped over my head and tightened behind my neck.

"Therefore sentenced to hang by the neck until dead." The executioner's hand closed over the handle... I closed my eyes...

- - - - - - - EVA SHAPIRO'S POV - - - - - - -  
The island of Tortuga was clearly visible over the water, only about an hour away from where the Black Pearl sailed. Eva held onto the wheel, sincerely missing the feeling of being Captain of a grand ship. From below she could hear voices and instructed the mute man, Mr. Cotton, to take over the wheel for a moment.

"- Jack! How could you let her go like that?" It was the angry voice of one of the new passengers. William Turner she believed.

Jack Sparrow spoke next, "She wanted to go mate!" he said defensively, "What else could I have done?"

"Hmmm, I don't know, Jack, not betrayed her to Eva Shapiro?" Elizabeth Turner said.

"I was there, Jack Sparrow " Ana-Maria said forcefully, "I heard you with her along with Christian. You didn't see the look on her face like I did! You broke her bloody heart!"

"Jack," Glenn said as a friend would another in his calming but stern voice, "She loves you." Eva chose now to knock on the door. She opened it slowly as the stream of voices suddenly stopped.

"Captain," she said stepping inside. Her eyes swept over the room quickly. Elizabeth, dressed in her nice lovely dress stood in the corner of the room, leaning on Jack's desk. William stood just in front of Jack, and Ana-Maria and Glenn stood by his bed, next to each other, their hands linked. Eva turned her attention back to Jack, "We're coming up on Tortuga." She saw Elizabeth's eyes narrow at her, surveying her with an air of distaste.

"Alright, Eva." Jack said tiredly. Eva nodded and closed the door, walking away as the stream of angry voices came again inside Jack's cabin.

As the Black Pearl docked on one of the many docks of Tortuga Eva felt a stinging feeling in her heart and a sick one at the bottom of her stomach. She linked her hand with Jack's... was it guilt?

Another bottle of rum was set down on the table and Eva picked it up, bringing it to her lips. Her eyes surveyed the bar, the usual fights here and there, pirates laughing and whores hovering over the men in the bar. The pirate woman put down her bottle as her eyes rested on Jack, standing in the corner of the bar, having a word with a few pirate mates that he had known for a while. Eva Shapiro frowned.

"Christina..." she whispered, "What did I do to her?" She shook her head, "What do I mean what did I do to her? Jack loves me! Not her anymore... still... I wish Hen-" Suddenly, something... someone rather caught her eye. She froze, standing up, her rum bottle falling to the ground with a smash!

"Henry!"  
- - - - - - - END EVA'S POV - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
"Henry!" Jack turned quickly, hearing Eva's yell, fearing the worst. It did not come, however, but the confusion did. He frowned to see Eva rushing into the arms of a man standing by the door. She was laughing into his chest, clutching him tightly. This "Henry"'s eyes widened and he smiled broadly.

He was tall, taller than Eva and Jack, with jet black hair and blue eyes. Jack looked upon him as the male version of Christina as far as his face and hair went. He shook his head again, willing himself to rid her from his thoughts. He, like was said, looked surprised to see Eva Shapiro and held her tightly, saying something that sounded like "I thought you were dead! Thank God you made it!" over and over again. Eva looked up at this man named Henry and brought her lips to his, making Jack's eyes widen.

When the two separated, Eva looked over and caught Jack's eye. "Oh!" she said in surprise and grabbed Henry's hand, dragging him over to the Captain of the Black Pearl.

"Jack," she said, smiling up at Henry, "I want you to meet my fiancee."  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - - -

"Wait!" my eyes shot open at the familiar male voice, calling out like an echo from another time through the crowd. I looked down at the crowd to see the Governor Swan of Port Royal pushing through the crowd. Behind him ran the man that had shouted out... a man that I had not seen in a long time, a lifetime it seemed... John Walker.  
"John!" I exclaimed as they rushed up to the stand, "Governor Swan!"

"You cannot hang this woman!" Governor Swan said fiercely, "She has done nothing wrong!"

"How dare you believe that she killed her own father?" John demanded roughly, his bright eyes meeting mine with a twinkle and a glint in them. I smiled at him. How wonderful it was to see a kind familiar face. His smile back sent a sting through my heart though. "She went out to look for him and found that a group of pirates had taken him hostage and killed him!" I did not know if John knew this for certain or if it was just coincidence and he had guessed the situation right. For now I did not care as I nodded to Norrington, who stood at the side of the stand.

"I followed them and found that my father had been taken by Captain Richards of The Seagull in efforts to find the island of Isla Draconia." There was a murmur in the crowd. "I tried to save my father." Norrington frowned.

"That may be so," he said, "But that still does not obscure your other crimes. You killed two of the King's Royal Navy."

"In self defense." I said. "I just went to see William and Elizabeth." It was a lie... but I was not going to die, not like this! "They were going to kill all three of us. Drunk they looked. What else could I do?" Norrington shook his head.

"Piracy "

"Yes," I said, "I did travel with pirates and engage in some of their ways." I thought of the rum on the crows nest and smiled slightly. I could almost taste Jack's lips on mine... his hand... No! I willed myself to stop thinking about him again.

"You see then," Norrington said, "She sailed under a pirate flag and wears a pirate brand. She must be hung! Nothing but a pardon from the King-"

"I have one." Swan held up a slip of parchment, "It was to go to Elizabeth, but, due to the circumstances, I believe that Miss Ricci is to have it." my knees went weak with disbelief, "I grant Christina Ricci full clemency of the crimes accused against her of." The noose was taken mercifully off my neck as the Governor finished his sentence, a disbelieving smile on my face. I could see John rushing past the governor and up the stand, rushing across it as the shackles were taken off of my wrists and ankles. He put his arms around me. I smiled and embraced him back, letting go quicker than I wished too, though. John made to take my hand and take me down the steps but I put up my hand, leaping off of the front of the stand and rushing over to the Governor.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, fighting tears, "You saved my life." I only now realized how scared I had been. The governor only gave me a short nod and a smile before walking away, no doubt trying to avoid tearful thanks in public. As he walked away I could hear him distinctly say:  
"You saved my daughter, my dear." Suddenly, I felt a hand in mine and I was suddenly being pulled through the crowd, everyone making a path for John and I, their smiles radiant. I was disgusted to know that just a few moments ago they were having their children go up higher for a better watch at me dying... despicable.

"Where are we going?" I asked John. He smiled.

"To the opera house, of course." He replied simply, "Monsieur Chapal will be so happy that you have returned. And then when the day is closed to we will go to my home and celebrate your return." I smiled as the opera house came into view.

Yet I couldnt help but wonder... was I making the right decision? I reached up and touched the dolphin necklace around my neck again but lowered it abruptly.

I had no choice. . .


	25. Chapter 25

- - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
"Your fiancée?" Jack asked in amazement. Eva Shapiro nodded, holding onto Henry's hand tightly.

'This is Henry Blackman," she said earnestly, "We were separated when our ship was attacked. I thought he was dead..." she looked up at Henry admiringly as he and Jack shook hands.

"I finally meet the famous Jack Sparrow." Henry said kindly, "I have heard so much of you! Thank you for watching over me love when we were not together." Jack and Eva's eyes met and Eva gave him a small smile. Jack nodded numbly, his mind far away... if Eva has a fiancée ... then she cannot stay with me... I didn't ...

"Christina..." he whispered, putting his hand to his head. Eva smiled at him, letting to of Henry's hand. "Oh! How could I have been so stupid as to let her get away?!" Eva Shapiro took Jack's hand and kissed him on the cheek.

"Go and get her back." She whispered. Jack smiled before hugging Eva tightly.

"Mr. Gibbs!" Jack said, turning to his fist mate at the table behind him, working on about his twelfth rum or so. Jack swayed a bit, putting his hands out but steadied himself. "Get everyone back to the ship immediately," he paused, "Unless they're in a brothel... you don't want to go looking for them in there... at least you don't want to find them and have to interrupt them. Just we're leaving Tortuga by tomorrow morning. Be there at dawn!" Gibbs looked at the babbling Jack curiously.

"Why, Captain?" he asked, clueless. Jack pulled out his compass and smiled as it pointed to the left...

"We're going to get Christina back..."  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

"Sugar cube?" I closed my eyes and held back yet another "inappropriate" insult. Otherwise I would have told him where he could stick that sugar cube.

"No thank you," I said politely, pouring cream into the tea in my cup. I smiled at John Walker. He sat across from me, his head donned with a hat that he now took off, revealing his dark blonde hair underneath. I looked down into the tea in the cup in my hand, the warmth from the liquid spreading into my hand. I really wanted some rum just then.

_Stop it, Christina!_ I thought, _You're back here. You're going to... marry... John Walker and you are going to continue your career as an opera singer. Forget about The Black Pearl... and Glenn and Ana-Maria, and forget about Jack Sparrow!_

"What was that, dear?" John asked. I looked up and realized that I had spoken aloud. I smiled.

"Nothing, John." I said, putting my hand to my stomach, which was being crushed by the corset. My breathing was tight and constricted. My mind flashed back to the deep breath I had taken as I stood on the front of- No!

"John," I said, smiling as I stood up. "I'm going to go into our bedroom. I don't feel so well." John's eyes widened and he stood a little too abruptly, throwing the napkin that he had held in his hand down onto the table, the corner turning a deep brown when it landed in the tea. I frowned.

"I'll go get it ready." He said hurriedly. "It's a mess in there, dear." I smiled, thinking of the conditions I had lived in for the last couple months or so. I smiled...

"It's alright, John." I said, following after him as he ran into our old room. I walked at a slower pace, admiring the wonderful art on the walls around me as I walked down the hall. My heeled shoes clicked on the floor.

"I'm coming in, John." I said, putting out my hand and pushing open the door, just in time to see John close a trunk in the corner, his face slightly red and glowed with perspiration. I looked at him fondly... but with limitations? Reservations? He smiled at me and gestured with his hand for me to sit down on the bed.

"Here you are, Christina." He said. I smiled and sat myself down next to the few suitcases that had been brought full of my clothes from my father's house, which was now to be given to the government. I minded... but I did not dare speak against John so suddenly. I supposed I would speak to Governor Swan about it. John sat down behind me, putting his hands on my waist and his lips on my neck. He was rougher than Jack had been... "When we're married." John said quietly, "I'll bed you like a wife." I looked down and smiled secretly... _If only you knew..._ I thought. I yawned unintentionally.

"I'm tired, John." I said quietly, "Please?" I turned my head and met him with a kiss, gentle on my part. He pulled away and nodded slightly.

"I will leave you, then." He said and got off the bed, walking out the door. I could not help but notice him cast a quick glance at the trunk in the corner, what I had always known him as a place to keep his old costumes and scripts from previous operas. I watched the door shut before standing up, keeping myself blind to all my feelings in spite of curiosity.

The trunk's lid, before to me, was heavy but now I lifted it with ease, unlatching the lock and leaning the lid against the wall. I looked down and frowned, pulling out his Raul costume... we were not to take them home. I shrugged and looked down; now pulling out the Carlotta costume... what was this doing here? Under this costume there was my answer... a brassiere and a corset. I shook my head... _no..._ I thought, _Not with Mary... he couldn't have..._ But I knew that he had. A flashback came back to me, not ten days before my father had been found missing:

_I watched John watch one of his friends walking down the street with a woman on his arm. I knew that that was not the man's wife... but his mistress. I looked at John._

"Are you going to do that?" I knew that it was not uncommon for a man to have a mistress. John put his arm around my waist, kissing the top of my head as we turned a corner to an alley, trying to get to the back of the opera house.

"Never." He said, "You're all I need... even after we're ten years married." I smiled at him, holding his arm tighter.

That... liar... In fury I slammed the lid back onto the trunk, leaving a loud thump to follow.

"Christina?" John was coming up the steps. Quickly, I ran over to the bed and pulled down a suitcase, easily. The door opened and John stepped in, casting a quick glance at the trunk and then at me, who pretended that I was having a hard time getting the suitcase down. He sighed in relief. "I thought you had fallen." John said and I smiled slightly, as if exerting much effort. As the suitcase came off the end of the bed I pushed to make it hit the ground harder, making a less loud but nonetheless satisfactory bump on the floor. John smiled as if in relief and reached over, pulling the last two down. I watched him struggle for a moment with an inside smile and him put them down in the corner. He smiled at me and then motioned to the bed.

"All ready." He said, smiling. I nodded slightly and reached over, giving his arm a squeeze before moving to take off my dress. I looked at him, not daring to speak to him. He shook his head and walked out the door after bidding me a well sleep.

_Am I not good enough?_ I thought, falling back onto the bed, _Am I so dreary that every man I've ever even had the slightest feelings for goes off with another woman... John, Will_ I cringed at a love confession I had not confessed to myself until now, _and then Jack!_ A single tear fell down my face at the feeling of John, hands on my waist and his lips on my neck... just like Jack had done so many times...

I could remember...

_He just can't keep his hands off me can he? I thought amusedly as I felt Jack's arms around my waist._

"Is this your favorite place Jack? I seem to find us like this often." Jack smiled against my neck.

"I'd much rather have you turned around." 

And with that memory I fell asleep, furious at John, sad that I had lost Jack...

_You've always known  
Your heart was on its own  
So laugh in your loneliness  
Child of the wilderness  
Learn to be lonely  
Learn how to love  
Life that is lived alone  
Learn to be lonely  
Life can be lived  
Live can be loved  
Alone..._


	26. Chapter 26

_"Learn how to love  
Life that is lived alone..."_

"Alright, madams and monsieurs!" Monsieur Chapal exclaimed, gesturing to all around him to come forward. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to him, his arm around my shoulder. "Tonight is the night we have all been practicing for and, thanks to Christina, did not have to cancel." I smiled. "I just want to tell you, good luck. Don't let me down my loves." Then, with a last bow to the actors and actresses, he left the side room. My best friend, Mary, looked at me from the other side of the room. She was to play Carlotta and followed me into the dressing room. There was an awkward moment for a moment...

"Christina!" she finally exclaimed, spinning my chair around and making me force her. "I'm sorry! Everyone thought you were dead! He... he... he said that you didn't matter anymore and that..." she began to burst into tears and I stood, putting my arms around one of my two best friends in the world. She looked at me.

"It isn't your fault." I said quietly, "I blame John, not you. He seduced you..." I smiled sadly and turned away from her. She stood behind me, helping me lace up the corset for the opening act. I turned to look at her.

"Mary," I said quietly, "Don't be sorry. It wasn't you at all, and..." I smiled, "I have a secret to tell you." My eyes were twinkling. She looked at me for a moment before standing before the mirror as I tied her corset. She looked at me from the mirror.

"What?"

"When I was out looking for my father..." I said, "I fell in love." Her eyes widened and she turned so quick the string twisted around my finger and pulled off violently. I put it to my mouth as it stung. The pain went away quickly.

"With who? Tell me! Is that why you're not so mad about John and me?" I nodded and with slight hesitation turned her back around, tying her corset tighter.

"I fell in love with Jack Sparrow." I whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened as she put white powder on her face.

"The pirate?" She asked me incredulously, staring at me in the mirror. I nodded, looking down. "The pirate." I nodded again and she shook her head. I quickly, in a hushed voice told her everything, just as I had Will and Elizabeth. Every moment her eyes widened, as did her smile.

"Oh! What a love story!" she cried and twirled once. I smiled to her and walked over to the trunk in the corner, where my costume was folded nicely. I pulled it out and smiled. Suddenly, a piece of parchment fell to the ground and I frowned, reaching down and picking it up. It was the letter that was given to Monsieur Chapal when I left, all those weeks ago. I quickly unrolled it, something heavy inside of it, my handwriting on it... I looked down at my hand where the heavy object had fallen and gasped.

"The necklace!" I exclaimed, looking at the pendant the jewel was round and on the outside there was skull and crossbones and a ship. I held it in my hand for a few moments before tucking it around my neck... no one would care as long as I kept the pendant on the long chain hidden in the front of my dress. I doubted anyone would even notice.

I pulled on my first costume, pulling my hair back as best I could. I did not like the amount of skin that was left showing, nor how thin and wispy the fabric was. I tugged at it as I looked into the mirror.

"You have nothing to hide." Mary said, taking my shoulders as I looked into the mirror. She was wearing her costume, an insane amount of white powder, and lots of pink makeup. I smiled at her.

"Nothing but this." I said and put powder on the Pirate brand on my arm, hiding it as best I could. Mary gave me a small smile. Next I put powder on the scar on the side of my stomach, where I had been shot. As I placed my hands on it I could feel Jack's there, pulling out the bullet with a gentle hand. I quickly pulled my hands away and dismissed the thoughts. "He's with Eva now," I said quietly, "He's never coming back." Mary looked up and frowned sadly.

(DISCLAIMER: I do not own Phantom of the Opera. It is simply one of my favorite performances and I wanted to slip it into this story. Here goes the performance!)

"Come, Christy." She said, "The dancers are rallying. I rushed out with her and fell into my place.

I watched from my pose onstage, gazing out into the faces of all the people, Commodore Norrington and Governor Swan included in the audience, stretching out until the end of the room. I felt no stage fright and stood there the way I was supposed to.

"We will have to cancel the show!" Mr. Tallis exclaimed, who was playing Monsieur Andre.

"Christine Daae could do it, Monsieur." "Madam Giry" said, stepping forward. I followed her. "She has been taught by a great teacher."

"Really," Monsieur Firmin said, examining me, "Christine". "Who?"

"I don't know his name, Monsieur." I said meekly, but loud enough for the audience to hear.

"Let her sing for you, Monsieur." Madam Giry said, "She has been well taught."

"Well, go ahead." Firmin said. I stepped forward, looking out into the audience.

"This is doing nothing for my nerves."

"Sh, don't fret Andre, she's very pretty."

I, not only as the nervous Christine, but as the nervous Christina as well stood. I cleared my throat very quietly and began to sing.

"Think of me  
Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye  
Remember me  
Once in a while please promise me you'll try  
When you find  
That once again you long  
To take your heart back and be free"

_Nothing is keeping you from being free love, but yourself... all you have to do is let go..."_

"If you ever find a moment  
Spare a thought for me"

_Jack smiled and reached one hand behind him before pulling out a beautiful black violin and black bow... "It's for you luv."_

"We never said our love was evergreen  
Or as unchanging as the sea  
But if you can still remember  
Stop and think of me."

_His lips were touching mine, the kiss that still brought me to my knees. _

"Think of all the things  
We've shared and seen  
Don't think about the way  
Things might have been."

A tear rolled down my cheek.

"Think of me  
Think of me waking silent and resigned  
Imagine me  
Trying to hard to put you from my mind."

_"It's a terrible thing for me to be saying, luv, but... I do love you..."_

"Recall those days  
Look back on all those times  
Think of the things we'll never do  
There will never be a day  
When I won't think of you!"

John's voice rang out from the faulty audience that we had in the front.

"Can it be? Can it be Christine? Bravo!" I saw him get up and turn to the audience.

"Long ago, it seems so long ago  
How young and innocent we were  
She may not remember me but  
I remember her..."

I cut in with my part.

"Flowers fade  
The fruits of summer fade  
They have their seasons so do we  
But please promise me that sometimes  
You will think...  
Of me -!"

The curtains closed... and all I could see was Jack...

And so the opera performance went on, at every available chance sending thought so Jack through my mind.

It came to my favorite part.

I moved to leave the "room" that was the stage, my hand reaching out to a door... but Ian's voice rang out through the stage.

"Insolent boy this slave of fashion  
Basking in your glory  
Ignorant fool! This brave young suitor  
Sharing in my triumph!"

I turned, opening my mouth to sing as "Christine" heard the voice of what she believed to be the Angel of Music.

"Angel, I hear you speak  
I listen  
Stay by my side  
Guide me  
Angel my soul was weak  
Forgive me  
Enter at last  
Master"

"Flattering child you shall know me  
See why in shadow I hide  
Look at your face in the mirror  
I am there inside!" I turned to the mirror before me, looking at myself as it came to the middle of the stage. I knew that the audience could see things moving at a flowing pace and they could see Ian, or Eric the Phantom of the Opera behind it, as if looking through. I looked at the mirror, all I could see was my father... and then Jack... my father greeting Jack with a warm hand.

"Pst!" I snapped back to reality

"Angel of music  
Guide and guardian  
Grant to me your glory!  
Angel of music  
Hide no longer  
Come to me strange angel!"

"I am your angel of music... come to the angel of music." I could hear John's makeshift yelling on the other side as Raul tried to get into Christine's room at the sound of the singing.

The familiar organ music proceeded through the audience and I stepped through the mirror that had opened, the Phantom's hand extended and taking mine. His face was half donned with a mask, his body clothed in a suit and black cape. The original setting continued to slide away until we were surrounded by darkness and candles.

"In sleep he sang to me  
In dreams he came  
That voice which calls to me  
And speaks my name  
And do I dream again  
For now I find  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
Inside my mind."

The Phantom smiled at me.  
"Sing once again with me  
A strange duet  
My power over you  
Grows stronger yet  
And though you turn from me  
To glance behind" On cue I turned and looked around.

"The Phantom of the Opera is there  
Inside your mind"  
"Those who have seen your face  
Draw back in fear  
I am the mask you wear"  
"It's me they hear."  
Together we sang:

"My spirit and my voice"  
"In once combined  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
Inside my mind."  
I sang alone now:  
"Is there... the Phantom of the Opera."

I began to hit the notes that I had been practicing for, going higher and higher as the "Phantom" coaxed me on to continue singing.

And with a final note, the scene was over. The curtain closed, my last note ringing out over the audience.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+  
Now John and I (AKA Raul and Christine) ran over the stage and onto the stairs that the stage crew had set up on the far side of it to an upper level, that dropped down. It was truly magnificent.

John sang quietly, holding my hands. "There is no Phantom of the Opera."  
MI cried, "Raul I've been there  
To his world of unending night  
To a world where the daylight desolves into darkness  
Darkness  
Raul I've seen him  
Can I ever forget that sight  
Can I ever escape from that face  
So distorted deformed it was hardly a face in the darkness  
Darkness  
But his voice filled my spirit  
With a strange sweet sound  
In that night there was music in my mind  
And from music my soul began to soar!  
And I heard as I've never heard before..."

John overlapped the last line, taking my hands: "What you heard was a dream and nothing more..."

I shook my head, turning toward the audience, tearful, "Yet is his eyes all the sadness of the world  
Those pleading eyes  
That both threaten and adore..."

John put one hand to my face "Christine... Christina-ine!..." I tried not to glare at his slip up.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime...  
Say the word and I will follow you  
Share each day with me each night each morning"

I sang: "Say you love me..."

"You know I do."

"Love me, that's all I ask of you."

The music got higher as John put his hands on my neck and his face close to mine, his pale green eyes staring into my blue ones... I knew I was supposed to do something...  
All you have to do is let go...

"Christina..." John whispered. I looked back at him. The audience suddenly hushed and the music stopped, "Christina, kiss me!"

_"I love you Christina."_

"Are you ever going to leave me Jack?"

He wouldn't have left me... it was I that left him... it was Eva that took him away...

I looked at John Walker.

_"I don't think I want to go back to Port Royal, Jack... because I don't love him anymore... I love you..."_

"Christina!" John said shaking my shoulder a bit. "Kiss me." I shook my head.

"No, John." I whispered, "I can't..." Quickly, I pulled away from him and turned, my black dress and red cape being held up by my fists. I ran...

For a fleeting moment I thought I saw Monsieur Chapal smile as he whizzed by... but perhaps it was just my imagination.

The faint singing of Ian, as I ran out the side door, past a smiling Mary and out the door.

"You will curse the day you did not do  
All the Phantom of the Opera asked of you!"

"Christina!" I could hear voices behind me as I turned into an alley and onto the docks, through the streets of Port Royal, pushing the people that weren't at the opera away from me.

The wood on the docks, as I pushed past the keeper, clicked under my shoes the salty air blowing my hair back

"Christina! Christina!" Desperately, I looked for any sign of a ship that would take me away.

I spotted a merchant ship, not a yard away and leapt over the gap, landing on the rope that hung from the side and climbing up. It was difficult in my dress but I made it to the deck nonetheless just as I heard booted footsteps on the dock.

"Make ready to sail boys!" I heard and rushed back into the captain's cabin, rolling under his bed. "Come on! Put your backs into it!" The ship suddenly was rocking under me.

I was off and gone from Port Royal forever.


	27. Chapter 27

Boy had it been a long day. Captain Heffner walked into his cabin and pulled off his hat, throwing it to the side.

"Oh dear..." he whispered loudly, settling himself down into his chair, leaning his head back. "I'm gettin' too old for this."

"So am I," I said and stood from behind the chair, holding a dagger to the Captain's throat. I smiled as I earned a frightened squeak from Heffner. His breathing began to increase in speed.

"Please, Miss... I mean you no harm, the gold is in the safe... the code is six-"

"I don't want your money and I don't want to kill you." I cut him off tiredly, "I just need you to take me to my destination and you to cooperate. This ship is headed East is it not?"

"Y-yes, Miss."

"Alright then," I said, "I want you to take me to Tortuga. It's on the way to wherever you're going I'm sure. No one need know I'm here." I pulled the dagger from his neck and stood up to my full height, as he stood up to his. "I don't want to fight you." I said, "I just need to get to Tortuga."

"I know you..." Heffner said, pointing a stubby finger at me, "You're Christina Ricci! That opera singer that ran away! Right 'fore we cast off, everyone was looking for her!" I said nothing but kept my face emotionless.

"Do we have an understanding as to what is going to happen here?" I asked, pointing my dagger at him again.

The Captain nodded feverishly.

"Good..." I liked the new Christina.

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
"Captain "

"What?" Jack snapped, though with a smile on his face.

"We should be arriving at Port Royal within a day or so." Jack looked over at Glenn, his second mate, Gibbs standing beside him.

"I hope she'll still have me," Jack said, more to himself than to them.

"She loves you, Captain." Glenn said, smiling, "She'll have you."

Night had fallen and Jack Sparrow had not moved.

"Captain," Gibbs said, his gruff voice pulling Jack from his thoughts, "Who'll be taking the first watch?" Jack shook his head.

"I will," he replied, "I can't sleep anyways." Gibbs nodded slowly.

"Aye Captain." He said and walked away, limping slightly as he drank from his canteen.

Jack was left alone.

The Captain of the Black Pearl leaned against the back of the helm, sitting down. He slowly let himself fall into the past...

_He could see William Turner coming through the sand toward him, yet there was another figure walking next to him. Jack had quickly gotten out of the rowboat and walked toward the figures. He knew that one of them was a woman, hiding under a cloak, her long, spiral curled hair falling around her face that he could not see. He saw that her and Will's hands were linked._

"Hello, Jack."

"Why William," Jack had said, "I thought that you would be content with only Elizabeth." The girl's head snapped up and her face turned a deep shade of red. He smiled at her, a smile that he knew was crooked. She looked down again and William pushed her forward a bit.

"Jack, this is Christina Ricci." He said, "She needs your help." Jack looked at this girl... and then down at her feet... there was a bag there. Jack sighed, shaking his head.

"Hello, luv," he had said, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." The girl held out her hand boldly and he smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sparrow." She had said bravely, politely, and quietly. Her grip was firm yet it felt crushed beneath his. As they were shaking hands, Jack ran his eyes up and down her body. She was thin though full in the areas she should. She did not look very strong... He looked at William.

"May I have a private word with you, William?" he had asked. There was no way he was going to let this woman onto his ship... at least without a fight.

It was the moment that Christina Ricci gave up her act as if she were not listening to them and begged... yet with pride, that Jack began loving her, he thought. She was desperate, and was willing to abandon everything for someone, something that Jack had never felt. He looked upon her with a sense of sympathy for a moment, yet it was gone as quick as it came.

Now he had to go get her back.

Jack opened his eyes, letting himself return to the present, standing up and rubbing his eyes... there was something wrong. He held the wheel and turned, looking to his left... nothing... he then turned to his right and up at the moon, masked upon a sail? With wide eyes he realized...

"Board!" a voice rang out and suddenly many men were swinging onto his deck.

"Get off my ship!" he shouted and turned his head to the crew's quarters. "ALL HANDS ON DECK!" He screamed. There was a sudden scramble and through the fight, which he could not describe to anyone for he was too surprised that he had not heard them, he felt a touch of cold metal on his temple.

"Dont move." A cold voice said. Jack froze for a moment.

The man pulled the trigger...  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -


	28. Chapter 28

Four days had passed since my departure from Port Royal and now, as I looked out into the horizon from the Captain's window, I could see Tortuga getting closer and closer. My heart fluttered with frightened excitement at the thought of Jack being there.

I thought about the change that had occurred in Jack's personality. Through the thick and thin he still stayed his funny, sarcastic, ridiculous self... but he was a bit more serious, a bit more protective... I could not place it but my being there had changed him. Was that a good thing? I certainly had changed and I liked it.

I could hear voices outside of the cabin door, "Why are we here, Captain? This is a pirate port!" Heffner sighed and I stood, my black, huge dress all around me. I could not wait to be out of it... it was pretty, I had to say, but it was most uncomfortable after four days of wearing it. The door opened.

"Well, Miss Ricci, we're here." Heffner said, gesturing with his hand. His first mate, I would assume, looked at me for a moment with wide eyes...

"Christy?" he asked. I smiled.

"Hello, Johnny." I said brightly. I was not surprised to see him for he had come into the Captain's cabin plenty of times while I hid, "It's been many years since I last saw you." He smiled. Heffner looked from one of us to the other quickly.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Oh, forgive me Captain." Johnny said, "We were friends as children. I left when we were teenagers to find work." He looked back at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Alright! Alright! Enough with this chit chat! You'll have time for it later. Now, the sun is setting and even though I don't trust it here, we'll stay. I don't want to go out into open sea where I know there are pirates that would like nothing more than to take my ship." I smiled.

"Perhaps I could take Johnny ashore?" I asked, "We would like to catch up." Heffner sighed and nodded.

"Thank you," I said, walking out the door. I stopped and touched his shoulder, "For everything." The Captain nodded briefly and I smiled, walking out the door and onto the deck. I sped past the baffled crew members and hopped over the edge. I didn't care about the suspicions the crew might have for their captain, a young woman, coming out of his cabin and rushing onto a pirate port. It was certain that they would have suspicions of some sort.

Johnny walked behind me, keeping close as I walked through Tortuga, no longer afraid of this island but... perhaps even at home.

"Why do I feel as if I am more nervous here than you?" Johnny asked. I smiled.

"Because you are." I replied simply, taking his arm. I looked icily at a man who was approaching me and touched the pistol on my skirt. He smiled hurriedly and backed away.

"You're a pirate aren't you?"

We walked into the pub that Jack and I had first met Edmund in, sitting down at the bar. I smiled at the bartender woman, who smiled back at me, recognizing me. She seemed to have a bit of sympathy in her eyes... for what reason I did not know. I still had not answered Johnny's question.

"Are you?" he demanded. He did not sound mad, just desperately curious, "Are you a pirate?"

I sighed and held out my arm, which was branded with the P, Johnny's eyes widening at it.

"Yes," I said quietly, "Yes I am." Johnny looked at my eyes as I tipped the mug of rum in front of my face, pouring some down my throat. He sighed.

"So you became the thing you wanted to be rid of."

"Port Royal's life was a lie, Johnny." I said, "It was a lie! You go out to sea. Sure, your intentions are much more fine than that of a pirate, but isn't it worth it just to be free?" Johnny shook his head.

"You gave up everything, though." He said, "For a life of crime, running from the navy." I smiled.

"I'm happy like this," I said, "I really am." Johnny shrugged his shoulders heavily.

"If you say so." He said, "I'm going to go back to the ship. Goodbye, Christina." I smiled sadly and put my arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. "We won't see each other again." He said, bowing slightly. He walked out of the door quickly, casting sharp glances around him. I stood there, watching him leave.

"Christina!" My body instinctively whirred around, my eyes wide to see a woman that I had not seen in weeks... one that I had hoped not to see again. My throat became dry when I laid my eyes on Eva Shapiro. She was walking with her hand linked with another man's. I looked at the hands and suddenly realized something...

"Where's Jack?" I asked quickly, not even greeting her. Eva smiled.

"He left to look for you." She said. I gave her an icy stare and she noticed. "This is my fiancée, Henry." She said, gesturing to the man next to her. He was quite tall and bowed to me. I half curtseyed to him. Eva smiled, "Jack went back to Port Royal to find you." She repeated. "He left here six days ago."

"I left." I said, thankful, my sourness toward the pirate slowly melting away. "I went to find him!" Eva laughed.

"He'll come back here when he finds that you're no longer in Port Royal." She said quietly, "He'll never stop chasing you, I hope you know that." I looked down.

"Yes," I said.

"Christina Ricci!" I sighed, wondering how many other familiar faces I would see this night and turned, smiling at the pirate that I had conversed with so many times.

"Edmund," I said politely, bowing. He smiled and yet... it was not a smile of happiness. I grasped his hand with both of mine and shook it, not forgetting that he was recently claimed as my uncle. "It is wonderful to see you again." He smiled again, sighing.

"And you, my niece." He said, "I hope you have not forgotten what I said..."

"Of course not." I said, "No one ever could." I smiled as Eva touched my arm and bid me farewell. I waved to her, keeping my comments to myself. I would deal with my feelings later.

"Care for a rum?" Edmund asked quietly, swallowing. I frowned at his unease.

"Alright..." I said and sat down slowly, gathering up my dress around me so that none would trip on it. Edmund Ricci's peg leg thumped on the ground as he walked over to sit across from me and sat down.

"There is something you want to tell me, Uncle." I said; it was not a question.

"You came here looking for Jack Sparrow."

"Yes..."

Edmund's eyebrows contracted on the top of his rugged, tan face. "You won't find him here..." He said. I went to speak but he cut me off, "His ship was attacked. Jack... was attacked."

Every muscle in my throat constricted... I couldn't breathe... my heart ceased to function in shock.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyes filling with tears. I knew what was coming next.

"Christina... He's dead..."


	29. Chapter 29 1

_"Think of me  
Think of me fondly  
When we've said goodbye...  
Remember me  
Once in a while  
Please promise me you'll try..."_

Two weeks of Hell...

Two weeks of torture...

Three weeks and I still hadn't accepted that Jack was dead.

I now lived in Tortuga, bartending at the same pub Jack and I had gone to so many times. We had gone there my first time to Tortuga, we had met Eva Shapiro there, Edmund Ricci had revealed himself there... it was too much to stay away from it, although I felt like that was exactly what I wanted to do.

Edmund had been at the bar every night, always tipping me much more than I deserved. He knew that these last days had been the slowest of my life, even if I fell asleep quickly through tears and exhaustion.

Many times Lucy, the old bartender, had told me that doing what I was wasn't the best way to make money. She had told me that the men were all over me when I waited on the tables.

I had nearly slapped her when she told me I would make an excellent whore.

"How dare you?" I had attacked her with my tongue, when my hand had not the strength to strike her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "This work isn't cut out for a woman like you. I'm just opening the options for you, love." I shook my head, about to pick up a glass and polish it, ending up in just setting it down.

"I'm sorry." I said, "I know you just want to help... but there is no chance that I'll ever work in a brothel." I shook my head, bringing my hand to the back of my neck and tangling it in my hair. I sniffed, shaking my head and leaning against the back of the bar.

I had fallen apart that night. I sat hunched beneath the bar, crying and hugging myself close.

No other man would ever touch me.

My hand restlessly scrubbed the glass, circling the inside and back to the out. This was the third time I had scrubbed this glass... it was so clean I doubted it could go any further. I shook my head, putting it down and picking up another glass that was already clean.

"Honey," I looked up to see Lucy with a tray in her hand. It was donned with two bottles of rum, two mugs, and a platter of some sort of meat that I dared not touch or let near my nose.

"Yes?"

"Take this to the table in the back," she said, handing me the tray. I straightened my dress and nodded, taking it from her and walking around the bar. I ignored and dodged the hands that reached out to touch me. I scowled as one hand came in contact with my leg and held back the urge to dump the reek of meat onto this man's head. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edmund, sitting in the corner, watching me as I struggled with my urge.

"Here you are, sir." I said, not really looking at the man at the table, only taking in that he was a blonde pirate with more manners than I had seen here as he thanked me.

I started my way back to the bar, my shoes clicking on the hardwood floor. I watched not only the floor for spills or people but all around me for any sign of danger. Anyone could tell that I had changed a dramatic amount in the way I presented myself in Tortuga. There was no figure for me to cling on or trust in now...

The doors to the bar swung open and hit the wall beside it. I paid it no attention and continued on my way to the bar, picking up empty rum bottles and putting them on the tray as I went along. A round of gasps echoed around the bar and I turned.

"Christina!"

The tray fell from my hand and glass shattered.

A figure was being towed between two others in the door. Blood splattered on the ground through the loose bandage around his tight muscled stomach.

My jaw dropped as the dreadlocked figure, his shirt gone and his hat in a short, rugged man's hand. The other man had his dark blonde hair smeared with blood from a gash on his forehead.

"Jack!"


	30. Chapter 29 2

I had to fight the urge to cry when they laid him on the bed, the blood seeping through his bandage and onto my blankets. I kneeled down beside his sleeping figure, a groan escaping his lips.

"Jack?" I whispered, wiping my eyes. I looked up at Glenn, who was gently taking the bandages off of Jack's middle. I gasped at the gash that was there. "Jack..." his breathing was getting shallow. "No, no don't leave me. No. Please, it's my turn."

"It's not completely fatal." Glenn said to me, putting his arm around my shoulder. "It missed all the organs, amazingly, otherwise he would be dead now... It's infected now is the problem. It needs to be clean so it can heal... and you're not listening..."

"I'm listening," I said to Glenn, my voice thick. "What happened?" I turned to look at him, my eyes reflecting the misery that I was feeling. Glenn kneeled down putting his arms around me.

"We were attacked," he whispered, rocking my back and forth. "Sh..." I began to cry.

"I thought he was dead." I said through tears. "Everybody said he was dead. I thought-"

"Hey," Glenn hugged me tighter, nearly crushing me, "He's gonna be okay. Alright? He'll be fine." I looked up at him, wiping tears and curls from my face. He nodded toward the sleeping, struggling... pained Jack on the bed beside me. "But right now... he needs your help." I took myself from Glenn's arms and put my hand on the bedcover.

"Alright," I said, my voice shaking but no longer full of sorrow... now of a determined air. "I need some rum, more bandages... and more rum." Glenn smiled and stood up, fetching what I needed.

I poured much of one of the bottles onto his abdomen, earning a groan and thrash from him. "What's the other one for?"

"For me," I said, and I set to work.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

Two hours left me lying beside Jack, my head on his arm, his body limp, though the beating of his heart echoing out through the room it seemed. The sharp pivots of pain that he had given had apparently worn his sleeping self out more and now he lay sleeping peacefully. I smiled and leaned back my head on his bare chest, my eyes closed...

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
_"You can suffer before you die." Jack looked over at the Captain of the other ship beside him, his gaze icy. The Captain looked away, "Boys! Are we done looting?" he asked loudly. One man stood, in his arms the bag of gold that Christina had paid him with. Jack glared as the Captain shook his pistol._

"You're lucky this is out of gunpowder." He said... "Or perhaps not so lucky..." there was a searing pain in Jack's stomach and he fell to the ground, the end of the man's sword coming from his back. Jack choked... and fell... 

His voice came out in short gasps when he opened his eyes, looking around the room that he lied in. He was in a large bed, his shirt off and a tight pressure on his stomach. He was dreadfully uncomfortable... it took him a few moments to realize that there was a mess of curly hair surrounding his face and neck. He smiled.

"Christina..." he whispered to the sleeping figure."I knew you'd have me."  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

"Christina..." a voice whispered and I opened my eyes slightly, my head resting on his bare chest and my hand in his, "I knew you'd have me." I smiled and turned my head toward him, looking up his chest at him. Our eyes met and a few moments of silence brought tears to my eyes as I brought my face up to his.

"I thought..." I smiled, a small laugh escaping my lips. Jack wasted no time and brought my lips to his almost roughly. I smiled when he took his lips away.

"I know..." he whispered and put his hand through my hair, my head leaning back onto his chest. "I'm sorry, Christina." I reached up and touched the dolphin necklace that I had given him on his neck. "For all I've done." I shook my head.

"It's behind us, now." I said, "I am no longer engaged to John... you are no longer with Eva. All that matters now is you and I." I smiled and leaned my head onto his chest again.

"This day has gone by too fast..." I whispered. Jack chuckled, hissing in pain when he did so.

"Are you sure you want this?" Jack asked quietly. I was brought out of my doze and looked up at Jack.

"What do you mean?"

"The life of a pirate. Are you sure you want it?"

"I've already answered this question, Jack. When you're well we're leaving on the Black Pearl and we're never setting foot on Port Royal again." Jack smiled.

"Alright, then..." He said. I smiled and leaned my head back on his chest. "Christina..." I hmmed at him. "Look at me."

Slowly, I turned my eyes up to Jack, who had his hand on his pants. I paid his reach into his pocket no heed.

"You know I have never attempted this before..." there was a silence and I wrinkled my eyebrows, the blankets over us, keeping us warm...

"Say you'll marry me."


	31. Chapter 30

A beautiful lie... A beautiful lie... Was I sure about this? Did I really think that I could marry a man of his nature? A pirate? An outlaw of the King? Could I live a life on the run? With Jack I could... "Hold still, Christina!"

"But I can't breathe!"

"You've lived with it all your life, you can handle it now!" The air was slowly, with every pull of the already taught string, disappearing from my lungs, making it most difficult to breathe as I stood there. Elizabeth stood behind me, tightening and tightening as every second went by until I felt I would explode into a thousand ribbons. I put my hand to my breasts, breathing quickly now.

I turned to Elizabeth, shaking my head. "And how you learned to wear these all the time, I will never know." I shook my head, sighing again and turning back to the mirror of Jack's cabin. We had stopped at a port, Jack having gone ashore for "supplies" needed. I was not allowed out of the cabin, nor allowed to see Jack from the beginning of the day until the sun was setting that night, as it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before a wedding. I turned back to the mirror, the sun lowering slowly but surely in the window next to me. I suddenly turned to Elizabeth, taking hold of one of her shoulders.

"Elizabeth... I'm nervous! Why am I so nervous?!" Elizabeth smiled calmly, placing her hands on my shoulders.

"You're fine Christy." she said slowly, "Fine... Come on, now. Into your dress." I took the dress from her and began trying to slip it over my head. The process was anything but simple, having to pull up the small cage that hung around my waist and then the skirt above that, and finally the dress. My waist, now synched with a corset was now twice as small as it was and, beginning at my hips, the skirt flowed out around me, though not too far to where Jack would not be able to get near me. I turned to the mirror and smiled slightly. The dress was of a white, tinted a champagne color. The sleeves of the dress stopped at my elbow and a small trumpet sleeve came from each end, falling just to my hand. The skirt of the dress was layered and synched in various places, giving it less of a smooth, glossy look and more of a decorative look. I looked at my face, radiant and worried at the same time, making it look a bit odd though still surpassable and quite capable of saying pretty. I sighed slowly, brushing one of the many curls hanging from my half up hair into my face, framing it and making my eyes sparkle as they were more visible. I smiled, wringing my hands together as I pulled on my cloak and hood, a gift from my father that I had always held so dear to me. We had affixed a small veil to cover my face in the front and Elizabeth had sewn the cloak's fabric longer to make it drag on the floor as if a train. I pulled the veil over my face and turned to Elizabeth, who was holding my bouquet of roses, red and white.

The sound of the wind blowing through the sails of the Black Pearl was all I needed for an organ opening, though not a year ago I would have thought otherwise. I breathed a shaky breath as Elizabeth exited the door in front of me, taking Will's arm as they walked down the aisle together and took their places in the front. Will was to be Jack's best man and Elizabeth was to be my "maid of honor" as she called herself. I caught a glance of Jack, his face turned toward the door, somehow looking for me as well. I turned my eyes to the right, my gaze drifting away from him as the crew smiled. I caught sight of a figure at the end of the aisle but, before I could see him clearly, the doors closed and I was left to stand alone and count to thirty. One... Twenty seven... Twenty nine... "Thirty." I whispered and put my hand to the door, pushing it open slightly. Glenn, who had been standing on the other side, pulled it open for me and I walked out into the sunset light. Ana-Maria's intake of breath was not lost as I stepped out of the room.

The gentle lap of the waves on the side of the ship calmed me as I walked out of Jack Sparrow's cabin, breathing slowly, so as not to let my nerves get the best of me. Looking over I smiled, taking Edmund Ricci's large, extended arm. I had told this pirate that if I could not have my father there, he would be. I looked straight ahead and held back a smile and a laugh.

On either side of the aisle that had been built, a white carpet going to the helm of the ship, were the crew and other visitors. We were not a mile from the shores of Tortuga, the island visible out of the corner of my eyes and it seemed that every pirate on the island wanted to come and see the great Jack Sparrow married. I looked dead ahead and held back the original laugh.

Gibbs was standing behind a very panic stricken looking priest, who was standing under the helm of the ship. Jack stood beside him, his normal pirate clothes on... though he did look a bit cleaner. I smiled at his crooked smirk as he looked at me and continued down the aisle, the clunk of Edmund's wooden leg ringing out, smiling widely.

I did not pay attention to the priest and what he was saying as I stood there, hand in hand with Jack, seemingly to have lightning circling around our joined hands. He looked somewhat impatient, whereas I was only happy that this was happening to me on the Black Pearl... with Jack, and not in some church with John Walker. I suppressed a shiver and looked back up at Jack through the veil on my head, long and trailing to the floor, though not trailing on the ground.

"J-Jack Sparrow, do you take th-this Miss Christina Ricci to b-be your w-w-wife?" The priest was shaking as he turned his frightened and rigged short body to Jack. The Captain of the Black Pearl, his soft, dark, brown eyes looking into my ocean blue ones with something that I had never seen before in his eyes... sincerity, smiled.

"I do."

"And d-do you... Christina Ricci... take this," I smiled at him reassuringly, giving a warning glance to Gibbs, who pulled the gun away. The priest nearly collapsed with relief, "Jack Sparrow... to be your husband?"

A flicker of doubt... a pirate...

"I do." Jack pulled the veil over my head gently.

"I now pronounce you man and wife... you may -"

Jack wasted no time in capturing my lips with his, his hands nearly rough on my neck, mine on his face. A tear ran down my cheek and I laughed as he pulled away from me, the entire crew erupting into cheer. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he picked me up by my waist, twirling me around. The priest looked happy, though desperately like he wanted to get back to the port that we had taken him from. I smiled, thanking him and ordering someone to take him back to shore quickly.

Turning back to Jack, I looked into his eyes, silent...

It was final.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The air blew back my hair as I stood at the front of the ship, my wedding dress gone and having been replaced with a short dress (down to my mid-thigh, actually) and black knee high boots that we had gotten in Tortuga. My face, for the first time that day through the parties and the celebrations, was constricted with pain... How could I tell him?

An arm around my waist and a pair of lips on the back of my neck brought me back to life as I felt a hand run down my side and onto my bare leg. It was well against my culture to have any leg showing but I did not care.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" Jack's voice was still his same old joking, cocky, foolish voice, but perhaps gentler at the sight of my face.

"Thinking..." I hesitated but I knew he willed me to go on, "About..." I turned I his arm to look at him, suddenly stepping away from him and leaning on the front of the ship, looking down

"Jack," I said rather abruptly, "We're going... well we're going to die one day, right?" Jack cocked his head to the side, frowning.

"Not if I can help it, but if we must then yes."

"And - and when we do... you want someone to take over the ship, right? Someone who you can trust to do it, right?"

"Of course luv, but what are you -?"

"I'm pregnant." It came out quickly and my eyes widened at the bluntness that I felt in my words. I had wanted to sugar coat it... but what would that have done?

I dared look up at Jack, who still had his head tilted to the side. His eyebrows were contracted together, his eyes tight. One of his hands reached up and took off his hat as he scratched his head. I looked back down, putting one hand on my stomach, suddenly feeling rather sick.

"Pregnant?" his voice sounded anything but happy and I looked up at him, for some reason feeling quite ashamed. I stopped myself. Was it all my fault? Why was this so bad?

"Yes."

There was a long pause and Jack turned abruptly, stalking across the deck and toward out cabin. I rushed forward, grabbing his arm. "Jack!" I exclaimed, pulling him around, "What's the matter? What is so wrong with it?" Jack ripped his arm from my grasp.

"Away!" he yelled and turned himself again, rushing into our cabin. I was left standing there rather stupidly, wringing my hands. A few of the crew members, having been put back to work, looked at me with confusion, perhaps even a little disappointment at the happy mood that radiated the ship before being blown up. I hid my tears and turned, furiously climbing up the net and onto the crow's nest, huddling myself on the ground and putting my head in my arms.

Why did this have to happen?

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

Footsteps, a figure climbing over the edge of the crow's nest, made me look up to see Jack there, kneeling in front of me. I looked at him for a few moments before turning my head. A pair of fingers touched my face, turning me to look back at him. I did so, my bottom lip quivering.

Jack pressed his lips to mine, gentle and caring and I knew, without the words, that this was his apology.

"Christina," I looked at him, my yes hopeful yet my mind wary, "I want nothing... nothing more... than to share a child with you. A little pirate to take over the Black Pearl." I smiled, sniffing and crying and put my arms around him, laughing and kissing him again.

"A little pirate." I agreed.


	32. Chapter 31

I coughed, grabbing my stomach and heaving myself off of the bed, the contents of my stomach emptying themselves out into the basin on the ground. I kneeled in front of it, sweat beading down my forehead and my hair, messy, seeming to attack and stick to my wet face. A groan reached my ears and I heard Jack get out of bed, I must have woken him up.

"Are you alright, luv?" Jack came over around the bed and pulled my hair back away from my face for me, watching as I coughed and retched for a few minutes. The few times that I gagged and nothing came out I grimaced.

"I'm fine." I said breathlessly and stood back up, lying down on the bed and bringing one of my hands up to my forehead. Jack went to pick up the basin and dump it out the window. "I'll get it." I said tiredly. I made to stand up.

"No, you won't." Jack said and did it anyways, turning his head to the side. I saw his wedding ring glint in the sunlight and I smiled weakly, waiting for my strength to return to me.

"Damned morning sickness..." I shut my eyes, falling back asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My eyes wearily opened themselves and I sat up, having been redoing this routine for the past few months. My stomach had now grown, and I had resided to buying new shirts that were tight around my breasts (which had grown) and flowing around my stomach. I dragged myself out of bed, the day already half gone it seemed. I pulled my pants on, dragging my shirt over my head and pulling my hair back. I walked out onto the deck and dragged myself up to the helm.

"You sleep like the dead, luv." Jack put his arm around my waist as best he could, hugging me close. I tiredly put my head on his shoulder, shaking my head. I was too large for only six months of pregnancy, looking as if I was ready to pop. I expressed this to Jack and he frowned, putting his hand on my head.

"We're taking you to a doctor today, luv."

I wished Elizabeth was there. She had left two months prior to stay with a relative for a while and to await Will's finding of a new job. He liked it on the Black Pearl, though; he had told me and wanted her to come back to him.

I wandered into the kitchen, grabbing an apple and taking a bite, before suddenly deciding I did not want it and threw it out the window. I sighed, putting cheese on a piece of bread and forcing myself to eat it. I sighed, resting my head on one of my hands and feeling a sudden push inside my stomach. I looked down, my eyes wide as I put my hands on my stomach. Was the child having a spasm? With eyes wide I rushed out and into Ana-Maria's cabin, where she stood with Glenn, kissing him. I averted my eyes to give them comfort and Glenn walked forward, hugging me and I looking down at my stomach. I smiled, though still panic stricken. Though it may not have seemed like it, sick as I was feeling all the time, I was excited. I turned to Ana-Maria.

"The child moved!" I exclaimed, half worried and half thrilled. Glenn smiled, putting his hand on my abdomen. I jumped as the baby did it again.

"It's kicking." Glenn said. He frowned, "Rather fast..." I looked over at him, and back to Ana-Maria, who was looking at my belly with her face thoughtful and one hand on her hip.

"You're big for only six months..." she said, leaning to the side again. I looked down.

"I know." I replied, "Jack said we're going to the doctor today. We're docking at Port Bowlen." Ana-Maria nodded.

"Tha's good." She said, looking at Glenn, "We don' want you explodin' on us now, do we?" I laughed and shook my head, turning and walking out the door.

I took walks around the ship, my hands on my hips, greeting and helping the crew to my best ability. Most refused my help with a smile, but all it took was a glare from a pregnant woman to get them to let me. I smiled, finishing coiling a rope and nodded at Sam, turning and heading toward the helm when I heard my name called.

Jack put his lips on mine fiercely. His inability to... well have intercourse... with me for the last few months was driving him crazy. There were other things we could do, of course, but those just did not satisfy him as much. I smiled and put my arms around his neck, kissing him back. I had my back to the wheel as I usually did; swaying every time he turned it.

A few hours of mindless nothing went by, with my walking or reading, helping or kissing before we pulled the ship into the port. Jack looked at me, smiling and handing me my cloak. I wrapped it around myself, looking around and holding Jack's hand as we walked onto the docks.

For whatever reason, no one stopped us and we walked through the averagely wealthy city, spotting a beggar here and there. I looked down, keeping my hood around my face as Jack pulled me through the town and to a building, the sign of a doctor's name hanging from above the door.

A faint ring of a bell followed us inside and I looked around, noting that there was one other person in the room. A man cradling a broken arm, hanging from a sling. He looked up at me as Jack stood in the room awkwardly and motioned for me to sit down at a chair.

Grimacing, I lowered myself into a chair, sighing, letting my breath out and leaning back. A hand on my shoulder made me look up, smiling at Jack as he sat down next to me. A headache was beginning to develop in my mind. I sighed.

"Ah..." I looked up at the sound of an unknown voice that I had never heard, frowning and looking upon the man that had come out the door. His eyes were a soft green, his hair brown. He smiled at me in a reassuring way from under his spectacles and I looked down, letting Jack help me stand up. I quickly made sure my sleeve was pulled over the pirate brand on my arm.

"Now," I was sitting on a bed, my hand on my stomach and the other on Jack's arm, "I'm Doctor Gravel. What do we have here? I take it you don't live in Port Bowlen; otherwise I would have seen you before, Mrs ..." I shook my head.

"Smith," I said quickly and changed the subject, "I'm from Port Royal," I said after hesitation, "Originally... a traveler now." The Doctor smiled from his spot by the wash bin, putting a stethoscope around his neck.

"Very exciting." He said, turning around. I sighed, looking over at Jack, who was awkwardly looking around the clean room. I reached over and squeezed his hand. He looked over at me and I winked. "And who is this?" He said, again looking me up and down. "You're pregnant I take it." I let out a laugh.

"Yes, sir."

"All right. Just making certain." Jack looked at Gravel strangely, shaking his head. The Doctor walked over, lifting up my shirt. "How far along are you? You look like you're ready to deliver."

"I'm not. That's why we came here." I said, holding out my arms as he listened to my heart. "I'm only six months." The Doctor took the ear pieces of the stethoscope out of his ear, looking at me sharply over the rim of his glasses.

"You're only what now?"

"Six months."

The Doctor blinked, nodding slowly. Suddenly, something seemed to dawn on him and he put the cold stethoscope to my stomach. I jumped a bit and looked down at him, tilting my head to the side. He smiled, "Just as I thought." He confirmed, "There are two heartbeats to be heard."

"Well, would one of them not be mine?" I asked, frowning. The Doctor smiled, shaking his head.

"Mr. and Mrs. ... Smith," he said, standing up and putting the tool back around his neck. I pulled my shirt back over my stomach. "You're going to be having twins."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Twins!" I exclaimed excitedly, hugging Will tight. He laughed, nearly falling back, looking at Jack with wide eyes. Jack chuckled, walking onto the gangplank and onto the ship.

"Twins?" Will mouthed. Jack nodded, looking rather tired and running his hand over his face. He smiled at me as I turned to him, quite excited. I took his hand and took him into what we had built up to be a nursery.

"We'll put the other cradle there." I said, pointing. Jack looked all together uninterested and occasionally nodded enthusiastically. I turned to him, hugging him tight. He put his arms around me, turning me around and putting both of his hands on my stomach, kissing my neck. I leaned my head back onto his shoulder, kissing his scruffy cheek. Turning back to the room in front of us, I began to think. Jack's hands ran over my abdomen and I smiled.

"Are you really happy about this, Jack?" I asked him. Jack kissed my neck again.

"Without a doubt, luv." Jack said, "Who wouldn't be excited to have two little pirates running around my ship?" I smiled, laughing and turning to him again.

Two little pirates... I'm going to have a family again!


	33. Chapter 32

The waves' motion slowly sent the ship in a steady rocking motion as I stood at the helm, watching with a smile on my face as Ana-Maria and Glenn stood there. Ana-Maria wore the outfit that I had given her and Glenn was at least cleaned up. Jack finished giving the speech that he had made up on the spot before Glenn smiled at Ana-Maria, bringing his lips to hers.

And the ring glinted on Ana-Maria's finger.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"It's nice that Glenn and Ana-Maria got married." I said, running my hand through my hair and pulling on my nightgown. I did not look in the mirror. I was fat... and ugly I felt. Jack stood by the window, looking up at the sky in an angle out the pane. He nodded absently and I sat down on the bed, allowing my seven-month-pregnant self to sink back into the cushions. "Are you alright?"

"I think we're going to hit a storm tonight." Jack said, shutting the window and throwing his hat onto the table. He fell back in the cushions next to me, crossing his booted feet and putting one of his arms around my shoulders. I smiled, turning the page of my book, yet setting it to the side and leaning on Jack's shoulder.

"A storm?" I asked incredulously. I sighed, grimacing as the baby kicked again. Jack put his hand on my stomach, chuckling when he felt the baby/babies kick again.

"He's feisty." Jack said, "Like his father." I laughed, kissing him and reminding him yet again that it may not turn out to be a boy. I knew how badly Jack wanted a son to teach the ways of the sea to. I smiled as I pictured a miniature version of Jack running around with his father.

I jumped as the ship gave a lurch, thunder erupting in the sky. I looked out the window at the flash of lightning.

"Go to sleep, Christy, luv." Jack said, putting his hand on my head. I blinked. "I'm going to stay up a while. This storm may turn ugly." I nodded, kissing him deeply and leaning back into the bed, pulling the blankets over myself. I turned myself to the side, feeling Jack leave, and quietly fell asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Ah!" I screamed as I toppled off the bed and onto the floor, landing with a painful thud. I sat up, leaning against the wall and grimacing, looking about.

The Black Pearl rocked violently around me as I sat there, trying to keep my bearings. Apparently, Jack had been right about the storm. I clutched my stomach, looking about and trying to find a way out of the agony that I was in. I felt sick in every way. I rolled over slightly, heaving and coughing. I gagged; sweat beading down my face and lied down on the ground, feeling strength slip away.

With a scream I saw a few rum bottles fall down, smashing on the ground and shattering around me. Beside me fell a candle, and it was all I could do to keep the flame from engulfing my bed.

A table fell over, landing on my legs and forcing me to lie still on the ground, trying to kick the small table off of me. I cried out, the rock of the boat still adding ot the chaos around me.

My hands were wrapped protectively around my abdomen, trying to keep myself from being hit. The window blew open, forcing all the candles to go out and rain to fall in through the window.

I huddled in the corner, facing the room that was slowly being destroyed, and trying to protect myself. I did not call for Jack, for I knew that he was steering the ship and would have no time or availability to come rescue me. I supposed I would just have to wait.

Hours went by, with me dozing off every once in a while, the moonlight blocked by the clouds but the lightning and thunder waking me up every time I tried to sleep on the hard ground. I turned my head toward the window, rolling myself over toward the corner and huddling there.

I no longer knew if it was day or night as the hours went by. Countless times I tried to get my exhausted self to sleep, but was woken up by one thing or another slamming or shouting or breaking.

... Finally it ended.

The ship became calm, and all stood still. I looked up and around the room, broken rum bottles covering the ground and miscellaneous things all over. I could hear the soft patter of rain outside. Surprisingly, most of the room was still intact and, as I went to stand up, the door flew open.

With a surprised cry I fell back into the corner, reaching out to grab the walls for support as I did so. Jack Sparrow walked into the room, sweeping his eyes around until he spotted me.

With a small chuckle, he climbed over our bed, which had been thrown to an angle, with me in the corner it could not reach, and kneeled down in front of me. He smirked, helping me up and onto my feet, looking me over.

"I'm fine." I said, holding his hands and leaning my head on his shoulder. "Just got a little knocked about."

"It was one Hell of a storm." Jack said, kissing me deeply and putting his hands on my stomach. "How did the Juniors weather it?" I laughed, hugging him.

"They're fine." I said, jumping as one of them kicked. "They're awake because Father's here." I laughed, kissing Jack again. He smiled, letting me go and turning, pushing the bed back into place. I leaned down on my knees, beginning to pick up the broken pieces of glass.

And the storm was over.

What I didn't know, however, was that another storm... another type of storm was coming on the way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I sat on the front of the ship, my legs over the side and my hands resting on the roped net next to me. I looked down at the water, wishing that I could help the crew with the repairing of the ship. I continued to stare at the water, lost deep in thought as I traced my arm, touching the burn mark that had been instilled there years ago.

"Child of the wilderness  
Born into emptiness...  
Never dreamed out in the world  
There are arms to hold you  
You've always known  
Your heart was on its own."

I smiled softly and looked out into the horizon.

But a frown traveled across my face.

"Captain!" I turned my head upward to see Sam up in the crow's nest, looking out with a telescope. He too was looking in the direction that I was.

"Jack!" I called at the same time. Jack Sparrow looked up from his spot at the helm, closing his compass. I pointed outward toward the horizon, a ship headed toward us. Jack looked out curiously, nodding to Gibbs who smiled broadly. I sighed and climbed down from the bow, walking toward the crows nest.

"What colors is she flying, Sam?" I yelled, putting my hand on my stomach and leaning back to look at him. Sam looked down at me.

"She's flying no colors, Christina." I snapped my head to the side, looking up at Jack.

"More pirates, I think." I called to him. Jack smiled, though cursing, turning the wheel to the side.

"Well then," he said, casting another glance at Gibbs, "We'll just have to loot them before they do us." I rolled my eyes, looking around and walking back into the cabin.

Jack followed me.

"Stay in here, alright?" he said gently, kissing me. I frowned when I pulled away. "I just don't want you or the littles getting hurt while we're looting. We lost some supplies during the storm anyways and no one wants to go back to Tortuga... again."

I scoffed, "Pirates." I said, looking down at the brand on my arm and nodding, "Alright, Jack." I said, "I'll stay here."

Jack left the room with a smile and I heard a click as the door was locked. I sighed, turning to the mirror.

I looked so very different now compared to when I first boarded the Black Pearl. A year it had been at least, I was now twenty four. My black hair was a bit less curly, shorter now, as I had cut it, and more bouncy. I, myself, was clean, for the sake of the children but my face was no longer the porcelain I had always held so prideful. It was now tan, almost as dark as Eva Shapiro's had been. I stopped as I remembered her with a smile... that had certainly been an adventure. My body... well I was not to go there, of course I was different there. But I was muscular, almost like a man, yet my muscles were lean and toned, making my legs thinner and my arms the same.

My mannerisms, I noticed, had amended as well. I was tougher, stronger, even in this state, and, surprisingly, all I really wanted to do was help the crew loot the other ship. I longed for my sword back in my hand and to help. I no longer wanted to e the proper lady I had been raised to be. I shook m head to myself, pushing the thought back.

Yes, I had changed...

I lied down on our bed, turning my head to the side. I looked down at my stomach, putting my hand on it.

"When you two are out," I said, "There is going to be a party and I will be the most energetic, excited mother there will ever be." I paused for a moment... mother... I thought... I'm going to be a mother. I was determined to give my children the best mother they could ever have... and never leave them as mine had been robbed from me.

I thought about that for a few moments before leaning back, tired as I always was these days, and fell gently asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shouts outside the door woke me up and I sat bolt upright. I crept to the door, my sword in one hand, straightening my white nightgown-esk dress with the other. I looked out the window, my booted feet making sounds on the creaky wood. Extra weight... I thought bitterly, remembering when I could walk soundlessly with no problem at all. Out the small hole in the door I saw a pair of pirates, not of our crew but could hear the shouts from the other ship. The Black Pearl's crew must have boarded, and these two snuck aboard our ship. I looked closely at the taller of the two, with more of a superior feeling, grungy and strong looking. He looked around constantly, as if looking to make sure no one was following them.

The shorter looked like the taller pirate's side kick, nodding to the latter every once in a while. They were trying to get into the Captain's cabin it seemed... exactly where I was.

My fear was infinitive as I stood there, my back against the door. I dared not make a sound, yet I could hear them talking.

"What do you think's in there, Cap'n?"

"He's the infamous Jack Sparrow," the apparent Captain said, giving the other pirate an obvious look. "He's got to have somethin' in his cabin. Maybe even a little whore." The pirates laughed heartily, spit on their beards. I cocked my pistol.

Suddenly, there was a BOOM and the door swung open. I turned, pointing my arm out.

It all happened fast. The pistol went off with a BANG! And the shorter pirate fell to the ground, dead, his face open in a grotesque expression of surprise.

My arm was suddenly hit and the pistol flew out of my hand, landing on the ground many feet away from me. I turned to the Captain, my eyes fiery and fearful all at the same time. Holding up my sword the two of us locked blades. I forced myself to be quick, even in the situation and pregnant as I was. I moved rapidly, ending up in nicking his arm. When I paused for a moment, though, the sword was knocked out of my hand. The Captain smirked at me, reaching out and grabbing my arm.

"Well, well." He said, looking a bit surprised and without much breath. He began pushing me back with more force than I thought he had. I was suddenly against the wall, my eyes wide and my breath coming out short.

"Jack!" I managed to scream, only to have the Captain put his hand to my mouth, roughly pushing me down onto the ground. He reached down to lift up my skirt and I slid myself away from him.

"Stop! No, please! Leave me alone! I'm with child! Please, leave me and my children alone!" I could find nothing else to do but beg. "Please." I said again and the Captain seemed to pause. I dragged myself further from him, now ending up beside my side of the bed, just in front of my nightstand. The Captain advanced on me, grabbing me roughly.

"No!" I screamed, trying to kick him off of me.

"I thought Sparrow might have a little whore in here," he said, trying to pull off my dress. "You scream like one." I was becoming panicked. I could not let this man take my children... if he did anything they would die. I let my eyes look up and my eyes came across something on the nightstand.

"Well... if this is all you want," I suddenly said. I could hear outside that our crew had been caught, and were being thrown into the brig. I batted my eyes at the pirate and gave him a seductive smirk, "Then I suppose you can have it." I let my arm travel up, running along the leg of the nightstand until my hand caught hold of what I was looking for. The Captain's hands were suddenly on my chest, his eyes lustful.

"But why don't you give me something in return?!" I said through clenched teeth and brought the lit candle into his face. The sound of searing and sizzling flesh as the Captain fell off of me, filled my ears and I kicked him off of me quickly.

"You little bitch!" the Captain's foot suddenly flew toward my stomach. I rolled over to the side, dodging him, but not before he got a good kick at the side of my abdomen. I screamed in pain, reaching my arms out as far as they could go. "You little bitch!" He kicked the same place again, leaving me to scream and writhe in pain again.

My hand closed over it, though. The handle of the pistol!

BANG! A shot rang out and I looked over to see the Captain lying on the floor, his heart having been pierced by the bullet. He fell to the ground, gurgling, blood running down his face out of his mouth. I forced myself to stand up, breathing heavily and out of time, as I half sobbed. I could not look at the deformed face of this unknown Captain, wax, blood, and melted eye dripping down it.

The pain in my stomach was overbearing as I stumbled out the door of my cabin, and toward the doorway to the brig, creeping past where the other ship's crewmembers (that were still alive, anyways) were looting the crew's quarters. I kept the pistol at my side, creeping very painfully, trying to keep on my feet and not collapse. A question tugged at the back of my mind.

Were my children dead?

"Christina!" Somehow I made it down to the brig, grasping onto the bars. I looked up to see Will, pushing past the other crew members and grasping my hands through the bars. "My God, what happened to you?" I tried to respond but a sob only broke out. Shaking my head, I leaned my forehead on the bars, my entire body shaking with unexplainable spasms.

"Where's Jack?" I managed to choke out hoarsely.

"He's on the other ship." Will, my childhood best friend, replied gently. I reached over and took the keys off the wall, handing them to him. He looked down to find the right one. "I don't think they caught him yet. He - Christina... you're bleeding!" I looked down to see that the front of my white dress was bloodied, blood dripping from between my legs and onto the floor... it wasn't the Captain's.

I cried out frantically in anguish and pain, "He killed the babies!" The door of the brig opened and I felt Will put his arms around me, supporting me.

I collapsed.


	34. Chapter 33

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
A hand was on his shoulder. "Jack..." Will's voice was reassuring but firm and worried, "Jack, you need to eat something. You can leave her for a few moments." Jack only continued staring into Christina's peaceful face, her chest moving up and down in a graceful manner as she breathed slowly. They had managed to get her to stop bleeding... how they did it he did not know... but what was to become of his wife? His girl? Were his children dead? Jack was grasping her hands. He had been sitting there for two days.

"Jack," Will's voice was becoming angry. Jack Sparrow turned his head to look at William, "She'll be fine. You have to eat something. Go in the kitchen. Glenn has something. I'll stay with her. Jack, please, Christina won't want to see you like this." Will continued to talk, slowly slipping Christina's soft hand from Jack's. Jack looked down, putting his had atop his head and rubbing his forehead. Will patted his shoulder as Jack stood up. "That's a man." Will said, "Go on. We'll be pulling up to Port Bowlen soon and she'll need to change." Jack said nothing, only shook his head and turned to Will. There was a silence for a few moments. When Jack spoke, he did not sound sad, as he would let no one else see if he really was, but serious.

"Maybe I wasn't cut out for all this, mate." He said, "Maybe a wife and children are not what a pirate should have." Then, without letting Will say anything, he turned and walked out the door, shutting the door behind him.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - WILL'S POV - - - - - - -  
William Turner sat on the side of Christina's bed, holding her hand with two of his own, and sitting in the chair that Jack had been. He looked into her face, rubbing his hand along her arm.

"Can you hear me Christy?" he whispered softly, sniffing, "Listen to me... you will make it through this; do you understand?" He looked down, sniffing again and choking on his words, "You have always been the strongest, fiercest, and most determined woman I have ever met. This is just another tree, Christy... you have to make it to the top. Remember all those days I got stuck and you helped me to the highest branch? Hm? Remember?" Will smiled, laughing a small laugh. "Now it's my turn. You're my best friend... and you are going to make it..."  
- - - - - - - END WILL'S POV - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
The ship had pulled into Port Bowlen and, as Jack pulled his coat on, he walked into his cabin. With a short dismissal to Will, he walked over, pulling the sleeping (as I had been for three in a half days) Christina out of the blankets. Quickly, he pulled off her dress, grabbing the crimson one that she had just recently bought and putting it on her quickly. She was limp and not a single way he moved her made the woman stir. Jack picked her up in his arms, staggering yet still remaining standing as he realized how heavy she had become.

Will walked beside him as Jack left the ship to find Doctor Gravel again.

Many people in this mediocrely wealthy city stopped and looked at Jack, a dirty looking, scruffy man carrying a pregnant, passed out woman down the road. Twice Jack was asked if he needed any help. He refused gruffly, continuing to walk toward the Doctor's.

Gravel was wrapping the arm of a man, elderly looking, when suddenly the doors of his office burst open. Gravel looked up, gasping and walking around the table that the man had been sitting on.

"Dear God!" he exclaimed, rushing over and looking Christina over, "Mr. Smith was it? What happened?!" Jack looked around for somewhere to put Christina, ending up in setting her down on the table/bed that the elderly man had jumped off of to let him set the woman down.

"Her stomach," Jack said, "She was... ah... well, kicked." The Doctor paused, looking down at Jack's exposed arm... at his brand of a P. He grabbed Christina's arm, exposing her own brand and his eyes widened in a knowing way. Gravel looked up into Jack's face, suspicion crossing his face.

"Kicked by whom?" he asked. Jack turned his chocolate brown eyes to him.

"Not me, if that's what you're thinking, Doc." Jack said, giving the doctor a cold look.

"Another pirate?"

"If I could ask for your... humor... I would like to keep my and my wife's social status from getting out. We may be wanted here too." The Doctor's eyes seemed to glint and he chuckled.

"Not to worry, sir." He said, turning worried eyes back to Christina, "Now, she was kicked in the stomach?" His tone was suddenly urgent and professional and he lifted up Christina's skirt. Jack growled.

Doctor Gravel adjusted his spectacles, looking up at Jack Sparrow. "Please, Mr. Smith. My concentration suffers when I am observed. Will you step out?" Jack did not move, suspicious, "I will not lay an unneeded hand on your wife, sir." Gravel assured the captain. "I swear by it or you may kill me." Jack, having already thought about killing the man, figured that it was a good trade and walked out the door.

Two hours went by, with Gravel suddenly rushing out and back in, shouting for his assistant, a young woman. Voices, sometimes urgent, other times sad or relieved, emitted from the room as Jack paced about. At times he tried to walk outside, but it did no good and he just ended up walking back in. He ran his hands over each other worriedly until, finally, the door swung open. There was blood all over the doctor's apron and the girl, who pushed past him, was crying.

Doctor Gravel looked down at his arms, where a small form was wrapped in a small, white sheet. He looked up at Jack.

"Your - Your wife is fine, Mr. Smith." He said, "She is injured but-" his voice broke, "But she will live." There was a pause and the Doctor looked down at the tiny thing in his arms. "Sir, I'm so sorry..." Jack could never have prepared himself for what was coming next, "But your son was lost." The Doctor held out the sheet and Jack took the figure under the sheet, feeling the tiny, lifeless body in his arms. He wrinkled his brow, shock overcoming him.

"And the other?" he asked, almost inaudibly. The Doctor looked at him.


	35. Chapter 34

- - - - - - - CONTINUE JACK'S POV - - - - - - -  
There was a long pause.

"The other child did survive," he said, nodding. "For how long it will continue to live, I do not know, but the child is still inside your wife and was not hit directly. No doubt, the baby will be delivered soon... and I want to make sure that it all goes smoothly. Your wife, because of her and the baby's condition, I insist, must remain here until the baby is delivered." Jack looked down at the lifeless form of his son in his arms, forcing himself to hold back the tears that he had never shed. It did not work as a single tear fell down his cheek and onto the white piece of cloth... covering his dead son. He nodded, biting the inside of his lip.  
- - - - - - - END JACK'S POV - - - - - - -

It was quiet... very quiet. I could feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness, hearing voices around me. One of them I could recognize... Jack... and with him was... Will. I could not open my eyes, yet I wanted desperately for them to know that I was alive. I felt awful but I was going to make it.

In reality, I knew that I was not fine and most likely was not going to make it. My stomach throbbed and my lower part of my torso felt bruised beyond belief. Sweat ran down my face and I could feel many blankets over me. I strained my ears.

"Jack," Will was saying, "Are you alright?"

"I think so, mate." I heard Jack saying. I longed to open my eyes, yet I could not find the strength to. "I just..."

"I know," Will said reassuringly. I heard a pat and I assumed it was on Jack's shoulder. "But look at the bright side, if you can. You still have one child to live for." One child? What was he talking about? I was pregnant with twins...

"I wish Christina hadn't killed that man so quickly," Jack suddenly said, his voice shaking with apparent rage. "His slow death would have been welcome revenge for my son." I felt as if I was falling, falling down into the depths of understanding that I could not leave...

_Welcome revenge for my son._ My eyes flew open.

"Jack!" My voice was strained, hoarse as I called out, finding myself in a bed, small compared to my usual habits, about the size of my first bed on the Black Pearl. It was large enough, though. I found that I was propped up on many pillows and cushions, lying there against them. I was partially sat up and I looked over to find Jack and Will both sitting beside the bed, both looking at me with momentary surprise.

"Christina!" Will said, standing up from his chair. Jack looked at me for a few moments through his wide, sad, puppy dog, chocolate brown eyes. He stood up and gave me a small, sad smile, kissing my forehead. I reached up and put it behind his neck, kissing his lips.

There was a long silence.

"Jack?" My voice was soft as I turned to look at him, "Jack, what happened? Where are we?"

"You're in Doctor Gravel's ward." Jack sat down on the side of my bed, running his hand through my hair gently.

"Christina..." he said quietly, touching my face. "I have something to tell you." I looked at him. "Our - Our son..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The tears would not come. I sat there, distressed but silent. I did not talk to Doctor Gravel when he came to inspect me. I could not talk to anyone; could not find the heart.

Not a word left me for a whole day.

Night had come and, as I struggled to finish the meal that was given to me, I could feel myself slowly slipping away in my mind. That... that pirate killed my son. Murdered my son!

Out of nowhere I broke into sobs.

Jack, who had been sitting next to me, suddenly stood up, coming to sit beside me on the bed and wrapping his arms around me.

"Shhh," he whispered in my ear. Any other time I would have found comfort in his embrace, but now I could find nothing that would take the pain away. I had known what it was like to lose my father, my mother, my entire family... I knew what it was like to leave my home, and leave everything behind me... but to lose one's child, I had now come to find, is the most miserable and horrible thing anyone can go through.

I continued to cry.

"It's alright, luv." Jack was saying... lying to me. "Ye'll be fine. We'll be fine. We'll be fine. Remember, we still have a child. One more, yeah?"

"He killed him," I said out loud, angrily, "That bastard killed my son. I hope he burns in Hell!" Jack cradled me closer.

"He will." Jack said, somewhat reassuring yet angrily as well, "He will."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A week passed and I could feel nothing in my heart those seven days but sadness and hate. Jack wanted to talk about it, constantly, but I would never utter a word about our lost son, who I had named Edward.

It was clear that Jack did not know what to say most of the time that we would talk. Any little thing would trigger me and I would break down, crying. I wished that my father was there.

Three days into my stay in Doctor Gravel's ward I felt the other baby kick. It filled my soul with a brief moment of joy and I excitedly grabbed Jack's arm and told him. He seemed overjoyed and held my hand. "See, luv? I told ye we still have a baby to live for." And with that he dropped his head back onto the bed and fell back asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I beat you again!" I laughed and pulled all the coins on the bed toward me, laughing as Glenn looked down at his cards, as did the rest of the crew. Gibbs was scratching his head, looking at me.

"Ye've got to be cheating, lass." Sam said, shaking his head in wonder, "This is the third time in a row." I smiled at the crew, shaking my head. I was not a cheater.

"Beginner's luck." Gibbs said. I laughed, shrugging. Perhaps... or it was years of experience since I was a child.

I thought about the crew that I had been living with for over a year, now. They were my family now, and I knew that they knew that I would do anything for them. I thought about Henry Smith, a lifetime and a half ago, and how the crew had turned their shoulders to him when he had tried to hurt me. I knew in my heart I would e safe as long as I was with them... I finally had somewhat of a family back.

"Well!" I looked up to see Doctor Gravel coming in the door, "What a lot of friends you have, Mrs. Sparrow." I frowned at him, the crew looking up sharply. How did he know my real name? The crewmembers looked at me. Bill Cald put his hand on his pistol and I shook my head at him in the silence.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Gravel," I said, giving him a small smile. The Doctor smiled back and walked over to me, nervously glancing at my crew. He put his hand on my forehead, quickly checking my heart and odds and ends. He sighed, looking at me.

"How have you been eating?" he asked. Will, who had been sitting on the far end of the bed, looked at me sternly. It was true that I had not eaten much in the last week and I told this to the Doctor. He frowned, inquiring to me why.

I shrugged and told him that I simply was not hungry and that the sight of food usually made me feel sick. Gravel nodded slowly before turning to the crew of the Black Pearl.

"Will you wait outside, please?" he asked. I met eyes with Will, willing him to stay in the room. He gave me a sorry shrug after trying to stay and walked out. Jack was not there this time, I knew, for I had sent him out on a few errands, which I refused to let any of the crew do, though he desperately wanted someone else to.

"I'm curious." I said, "How did you know my name was Sparrow and not Smith?" Gravel chuckled.

"It was simple, Mrs. Sparrow." The Doctor said, "I saw your husband's tattoo. And besides, it has been a rumor going around that Christina Ricci ran away with and married Jack Sparrow. You are, no doubt, Christina Ricci." I frowned, tilting my head to the side. The Doctor smiled, "I saw one of your operas." He explained and finished pulling on a pair of gloves.

"Has the baby been moving?" Doctor Gravel asked me, lifting me and lifting up my nightgown, inspecting the inside of me and touching my stomach. I felt insanely awkward at this man touching me, but I had realized that in order to survive in this "hospital", I needed to discard my pride for a little while. The Doctor pulled away from me, looking as if he were in deep thought. I knew that I was sick, and I wondered if my baby and I were going to make it.

I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my lower stomach, and a great pain I had felt this a few days ago and a few times since, but I did not know what it was. Now, as the Doctor was there, I arched my back and grimaced, in an enormous amount of pain. Gravel looked down at me, startled, but pulled my nightgown back down, waiting for the pain to pass.

It was five minutes (or so it seemed) before it finally did, and I lay back against the pillows, aching. Doctor Gravel looked down at me, frowning and nodding to himself, as if doing some sort of calculation in his mind.

"Mrs. Sparrow," he said, "If I am correct, and I feel quite confident that I am, you will be delivering your baby in less than a week." I looked up at him, not knowing whether to be happy or nervous... I was both. The Doctor looked down at me "You'll be fine, dear." He said, "It was a miracle that this child survived... that man kicked you just right." My eyes flashed, "God is on your side. You are strong." With that, he bowed his head and walked out the door, allowing the crew to come back in as long as they were calm. Jack came in first, kissing my lips gently as he sat down next to me.

"Well, luv?" he asked. The rest of the crew stood, waiting. Ana-Maria's eyes glinted as she had just come down from her watch on the ship. I looked around and noticed that Bill and Gibbs were gone.

"Less than a week!" I said excitedly, my voice shaking with nerves as I hugged Jack close. I lied back, smiling as I felt the small child kick in my stomach. Jack laid his hand on my belly, grinning his crooked grin as he felt his baby kick. I laughed and kissed him. He put his hand on my leg and whispered teasingly how he wondered my muscles had stayed intact this long, or how I did not lose my mind from lack of movement. What he did not know was that I had been taking secret walks around the room since I had gotten there.

I began to think about the gender of the baby as I continued to hold out long conversations with the members of the crew, reliving memories, laughing at jokes and each other, and playing another round of poker. What was it going to be? I was thrilled to have it either way... but... Jack wanted a son so badly, and that awful pirate Captain son of a bitch had taken him from us. I frowned, what if the baby was a girl, though? I knew Jack would be disappointed, but happy nonetheless and teach her all he knew. I decided to push it out of his head and wait for when the time came.

"Christina!" I was dragged out of my thoughts as I looked up from my book, my eyes widening at the figure standing in the doorway.

"Elizabeth!" She rushed forward and embraced me, I holding her close, as I had not seen her for a few months.

"I heard in a letter from Will what happened and, oh, I just had to see you." She was dressed in a long, champagne colored dress and hugged me again.

"How are you?"

We talked for near hours, with Jack dozing and every once in a while leaving the "hospital" to go find rum from the ship. Elizabeth and I paid his leaving and returning, along with Will's, no heed.

It felt strange to have so many people actually care if I were in the hospital or not... I knew that if this happened to me in Port Royal, many people would have showed up to pay their respects... but how many of them would really care? I shrugged, Less than half.

Beside my bed, sitting on a small table was a bouquet of flowers from Will, a small wooden carved boat from Gibbs, a painting from Glenn of a beautiful dolphin, and a new violin from the rest of the crew (mine had broken in the storm). As I looked at the gifts, smiling, a tear threatened to fall from my eye.

Soon, Elizabeth returned to the Black Pearl with Will, leaving Jack to lie beside me on the small bed and both of us to fall asleep gently in each others arms, listening to the breathing of each other and the sounds of the other rooms around us, where other patients were being held... though not many. How dangerous could this town be? I looked up at Jack and kissed his lips as he slept.

I knew where I belonged.


	36. Chapter 35 - THE END

There is not pain like that of child birth. I lied there, with the midwife and Elizabeth down by my legs, screaming and writhing as sweat poured down my face.

"Come on darlin'." The midwife said, looking up at me, "Almost there." I could see Doctor Gravel standing beside me, and feel Jack's hand soothingly on my forehead. I did not care about what they were seeing; I just wanted the pain to end.

I pushed with all my might, obeying the midwife, tears running out of my eyes. I knew that the crew was outside the door and every once in a while I could hear one of them yell something encouraging. I forced a smile that only turned into a grimace as my body threw itself into contractions again.

The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned to hours as I screamed until I could no longer, only ending up in whimpering because my throat was too sore. My eyes kept filling up with tears and emptying themselves, and I could feel my body emptying itself of all its water out my forehead. It was horrible.

In the back of my head, though, I knew that I was giving life to another, I was bringing Jack and I another member to the family. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe as instructed, pushing again. It was worth it.

"Just a few more, Christina." The midwife was stern looking, but kind on the inside through her mannerisms. I sobbed again. My energy was next to gone and I felt that if I pushed one more time, I would lose my life.

"I can't!" I sobbed, trying to push. I was not strong enough. Jack dabbed my forehead with a cloth, kissing me on my forehead. "I can't..."

I stopped for a moment, stopped this insane chaotic thinking and forced myself to think straight ahead. I was strong again. Christina Ricci...

_"You are strong, belle. You can be all you want to be."_

"All done!" I let out one last push, yelling with my teeth gritted, and all my strength I had and suddenly heard the midwife laugh in relief. A baby's cry reached my ears.

I lied there, the last of the sweat being wiped off my face and wiping the tears out of my eyes. I had been changed out of my bed and the sheets had been changed, all the while I was lying in Jack's arms, waiting impatiently as they finished their recordings to see my child. The Doctor had not even told me what sex the baby was.

Jack seemed too choked to speak, but he held me close and kissed me. That was all I really needed.

Now I lied in bed, watching with nervous eyes as the midwife came to stand next to my bed, holding a small figure in a blanket. I saw a small hand reach out and I knew that my baby had made it.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Sparrow, for your beautiful baby girl." I exchanged ecstatic looks with Jack and took my child into my arms, tears falling out the sides of my eyes. Jack kneeled down by the bed, looking at the little girl in my arms. His little girl. I looked up at him.

"What's 'er name?!" Sam asked as the crew came in the room. I smiled at all of them. I looked over at Jack and he nodded his head toward our daughter, indicating that I name her.

"Jacqueline," I sad after a pause, "Jacqueline Gina Sparrow." I swore for a moment Jack was going to cry as he smiled at his little girl, named after him. The crew erupted into cheers and I looked down at Jacqueline who was looking around her new world with wide eyes. I smiled at Jack.

"She has her father's eyes." I said quietly. He looked down at Jacqueline for a long time.

"She has her mother's strength." He said. It was the first thing he had said and Jacqueline turned her eyes to her father, reaching out one of her hands. Jack put his finger in her hand, lifting her up away from me and into his own arms with my nod of consent.

"It was truly a miracle that she lived." Doctor Gravel said. I looked up at Jack and Jacqueline.

They were my miracles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Yo ho o ho a pirate's life for me!"

"Jacqueline Gina Sparrow!" There was a smile on my face, "Isn't it high time you got yourself to bed?" There was a giggle as I looked up at the helm.

"I'm not Jacqueline, Mama." My five year old daughter looked at me from under her father's hat. I smiled when I saw that she was propped on his chest, one of Jack's arms holding her up, the other holding the wheel, that she had both of her tiny hands on, steady. "I'm Captain Sparrow!" I rolled my eyes, rolling up my white sleeves and adjusting my black vest and pants. I could hear my boots mockingly stomping up the stairs to the helm. I walked past most of the crew members, who smiled at the scene in front of them.

"Well, Captain," I said, putting one of my hands on my head, where a black bandana sat. I looked nothing less than a pirate, as the brand on my arm gleamed in the setting sunlight. "It's time to get ready for bed, belle." I heard Jacqueline make a mock scream and scramble around in her father's arms. Jack laughed, tilting his hat on Jacqueline's head so that he could see her face.

"Listen to your mother, Jackie, luv." He said, using Jacqueline's nickname. Jacqueline sighed.

"Is the crew going to bed too?" she asked, looking up at Jack with wide, chocolate brown eyes. Jack smiled and ruffled her somewhat long, curly, black hair.

"Aye," Jack said. Jacqueline smiled and turned to the crew, pulling a mature face.

"Oi! You scurvy dogs!" I held back a giggle and the entire crew looked up, smiling at Jacqueline.

"Aye, Captain Sparrow, ma'am?" Gibbs called. William laughed heartily.

"It be high time you go to bed!" Jacqueline cried out, putting a rugged edge to her voice. I shook my head, taking Jacqueline from Jack, kissing her forehead and watching as her eyes widened in joy as the crew did what she told. Jack stood with me, my back to the wheel and Jacqueline in between us.

"We'll make a pirate out of you, yet." Jack said, kissing his daughter, "G'night, luv."

"Good night, father." Jacqueline said, jumping from my arms and wrapping her arms around Jack's neck. She took the hat off her head, placing it on her father's. I smiled, taking her back and kissing Jack on the lips, promising to be back.

"Sing me my song." Jacqueline said, lying down on her bed, her hair brushed and her small, red nightgown on. I sat down on the side of her bed, my bandana off and sitting in my lap as I tucked her into bed.

"Alright." I said, pulling my violin from the spot next to her bed. It spent so much time in her room it had almost taken a permanent residing there. I pulled the bow across the string.

"Nighttime sharpens  
Heightens each sensation  
Darkness stirs  
And wakes imagination  
Silently the senses  
Abandon their defenses.  
Slowly gently  
Night unfurls its splendor  
Grasp it, sense it  
Tremulous and tender  
Turn your face away  
From the garish light of day  
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light  
And listen to the music of the night."

Images of my father ran through my mind as he sang this song to me before I fell sleep. Jacqueline would never meet her grandfather. I thought about the brother that she could have had... and wondered when we would tell her about him.

"Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams  
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before  
Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar  
And you'll live as you've never lived before."

Edmund Ricci had loved her when he met her, and it had taken Jacqueline a matter of moments to learn how to use a gun, as Eva Shapiro taught her. I remembered that night in Tortuga, when Jacqueline met the rest of her "family", playing in the corner with Eva's son...

"Softly, deftly  
Music shall caress you." I ran my hand through Jacqueline's hair as she turned her head to the side, closing her eyes.

"Hear it, feel it  
Secretly possess you  
Open up your mind  
Let your fantasies unwind  
In this darkness that you know you cannot find  
The darkness of the music of the night..."

Jacqueline was asleep but I did not stop.

"Let your mind start to journey through a strange new world  
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before  
Let your soul take you where you long to be!  
Only then can you belong to me..."

Tears stung in my eyes as I looked upon my daughter. I loved her so much.

"Floating, falling  
Sweet intoxication  
Touch me, trust me  
Savor each sensation  
Let the dreams begin  
Let your darker side give in  
To the power of the music that I write  
The power of the music of the night."

I played my violin for a few moments as a music break.

"You alone can make my song take flight  
And help me make the music of...the...night."

The sun was setting gently as I stood at the bow of the ship, my back against Jack's chest and his arms around my thin waist. I was suddenly turned around quickly and Jack's lips were pressed to mine. I fell apart in his kiss that still, after near seven years, brought me to my knees. I put my hands on his shoulders, running them up to his neck and onto his cheeks. I kissed him for a long time.

Pulling away from him I could still feel his energy running into my body, sending tingles up my spine. I touched his face.

"We're so free... I whispered, kissing him deeply. He smiled down at me and I turned in his embrace, touching the two necklaces around my neck. One of a bottleneck dolphin, the other of a ship. My fingers rested on this one, the one that, a lifetime ago, had brought me to Jack. I remembered pulling it from James's cold hand. I smiled.

"Bring us that horizon." Jack said softly, kissing the back of my head.

At that moment, looking out into the sunset with Jack, the last man I ever thought I'd be with, I knew that, even if you live a beautiful lie...

There is always a chance to find a beautiful truth somewhere on the horizon.

**THE END**


	37. SEQUEL NOTICE!

**Hey everyone! **

**So thank you so much for all your reviews on my story. I'm really grateful for all of them. It's been over 8 years since I wrote this story (one of my first) and I've been hit with a bit of nostalgia and motivation to finally write a sequel! **

**So go onto my profile and check out the sequel to this story. I'm putting up a sneak peek couple chapters, and then it might be a while before I finish them, because I am writing two other stories right now that I really want to get done and not disappoint everyone. **

**So please go check them out! Favorite them or whatever you want to do, and you'll be notified whenever a new chapter is posted. :D **

**Thanks again everyone! Have a fantastic night!**

**xoxo**

**Shellby**


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